• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 10, 2012

The privately held media company that owns the San Diego Union-Tribune is in negotiations to buy The Orange County Register along with 24 community newspapers owned by Freedom Communications, according to a number of local press reports citing comments made by San Diego Union-Tribune CEO John Lynch at a meeting of a local civic organization. The deal would also include Coast magazine, another publication owned by Freedom.

The news comes about six months after the San Diego Union-Tribune itself was sold by Platinum Equity to MLIM, LLC, a company owned by San Diego real estate developer Doug Manchester. That deal was announced in November 2011; in March of this year, Manchester hinted that he was interested in acquiring the OC Register as well as the North County Times, another regional daily.

Freedom Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2009, then exited bankruptcy in April 2010 (with its total debt of $775 million reduced by $425 million) under new ownership including Alden Global Capital, Angelo Gordon & Co. and Luxor Capital Group. More recently, the company paid off its remaining debt of over $300 million by selling a number of TV stations to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

According to the most recent report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Orange County Register had a total average circulation of 280,812 in the six-month period ending March 2012 -- up from 182,964 in 2011, due in large part to new digital and branded editions. Over the same period, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s total average circ increased from 218,614 to 230,742, again thanks mostly to digital editions.