The New York Times (NYT) Will Keep The Boston Globe

The newspaper industry must be looking up. Recently, Gannett (NYSE:GCI) said its last quarter was better than expected. Today, The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) said it would keep The Boston Globe which has been for sale for several months.

The Times said earlier this year that The Globe would loss $85 million in 2009, but was able to get Globe unions to knuckle under and agree to large cuts in staff and compensation. A former publisher of the Globe, Stephen Taylor, and Platinum Equity both submitted bids which a New York Times reporter says were for about $35 million in cash and pension obligations.

Investors clearly think that newspaper companies are in the midst of at least a modest revival. Shares in the Times dropped to $3.51 in February. They trade at $8.67 now.

The sale of the Globe took a long and winding road and ended back where it had started.

Douglas A. McIntyre