Q: What’s going on with the potential sale of the U-T?
A: The U-T has been on the market since last summer, but there’s been no public announcement of any progress toward a sale.
However, U-T sources say officials representing a potential buyer toured offices last month. Although no one who’s talking seems to know for certain, U-T insiders think the interested buyer is Canadian newspaper firm Black Press.
The company — which owns newspapers in the United States and Canada — first expressed interest in the U-T months ago. (David Black, president and CEO of the company, didn’t return a message seeking comment this week.)
But Black Press appears to be in a tight fix financially: Editor & Publisher reported late last month that its credit rating has been downgraded further into “junk territory.”
Meanwhile, it’s been three weeks since the U-T announced that layoffs were pending. U-T employees are still waiting to hear what comes next.