Buffett getting out of the newspaper business

— Billionaire Warren Buffett is giving up on the newspaper business.

He’s selling all of Berkshire Hathaway’s publications to Lee Enterprises for $140 million, including the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska and The Buffalo News in New York

Buffett is a lifelong fan of newspapers, but he has said for several years that he expects most of them to continue on their declining trajectory, save for a handful of national papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

The deal covers 31 daily newspapers in 10 states as well as 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products. Other newspapers include the Tulsa World in Oklahoma and the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina. As part of the agreement, Lee will enter into a 10-year lease for BH Media’s real estate.

Lee has been managing the BH

Media publications since July 2018. Analyst Ken Doctor, who writes the Newsonomics blog, said this sale is a logical step for Berkshire after hiring Lee to manage most of its papers.

“That was a first step in gaining some efficiency of scaled management. Further, it was a clear acknowledgment by Warren Buffett, a longtime major supporter of the press, that he no longer believed the print newspaper business could be turned around,” Doctor said.

Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst with The Poynter Institute, said this deal reinforces that the newspaper industry is out of favor with most investors.

“It’s a further unfortunate event for an industry that’s already been having a lot of tough times,” Edmonds said.

The deal will increase Lee’s size significantly. The company said its portfolio will grow to 81 daily papers and nearly double its audience size. The deal is expected to close in mid-March.