Chronicle Publishing Evaluating Its Assets
Roxane Farmanfarmaian -- Publishers Weekly, 6/14/1999
Two announcements that followed each other in quick succession over the past few weeks at the San Francisco newspaper company Chronicle Publishing -- which also owns Chronicle Books and Motor Books in Wisconsin -- indicate that the corporation may be gearing up for eventual divestiture.Early in May, CEO John Sias announced that the New York investment banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin &Jenrette had been engaged to evaluate the company's "financial, business and strategic plans." This was followed by the surprise announcement that CFO Alan H. Nichols Jr., heir apparent to Sias, was resigning to join an Internet startup in Silicon Valley.
A closely held family corporation, the company owns, besides the San Francisco Chronicle and the two book companies, NBC-affiliate KRON in San Francisco, two TV stations in Kansas and Nebraska, and two more newspapers in Illinois and Massachusetts.
"This is not the first time that the company has assessed its holdings," said Jack Jensen, president of Chronicle Books and part of the Chronicle Publishing Company for more than 20 years. "And given the present-day environment, one might consider the owners remiss not to be investigating the potential marketplace value of their companies. However, what will happen beyond that is pure speculation."
Jensen allows that this time the investigation may be more serious, since in the past the company had used accountants, rather than investment bankers, for its valuation assessment. A meeting of the board is expected this week.
An official at Chronicle Publishing, who declined to be named, indicated that the television properties are the assets most likely to garner attention. San Francisco is the fifth-largest TV market in the country, and a deal could exceed $600 million.
Chronicle Books, as well as Motor Books, are companies that have been growing steadily and which Sias has described as the crown jewels of Chronicle Publishing. Said Jensen in a staff memo that immediately followed the Sias announcement, "Our continued success at Chronicle Books is due to the growth and skills of our key asset-the people who work here."
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
PW PARTNERS
