The owner of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser is expanding by purchasing the two Hawaii island newspapers.
Oahu Publications Inc. announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today from Las Vegas-based Stephens Media LLC.
As part of the deal, which is expected to close Dec. 1 for an undisclosed amount, Oahu Publications also will acquire total interest in the website Hawaii.com, which it had co-owned with Stephens Media.
Dennis Francis, Oahu Publications president, said the Hawaii island papers will continue to publish daily and will be editorially independent from the Star-Advertiser.
The Tribune-Herald has a circulation of 16,000 Monday-Friday and 18,000 on Sunday. West Hawaii Today’s circulation is 10,000 Monday-Friday and 12,000 on Sunday.
"We are pleased to bring local management and ownership to these two quality newspapers," said Francis, who is also publisher of the Star-Advertiser, a subsidiary of Black Press. He said "our first priority will be to ensure that the two newspapers continue to serve the needs of their communities."
Francis said that editorial and advertising sales functions at the Hawaii island newspapers will continue under existing staff and that both papers will continue to be printed at the West Hawaii Today printing facility in Kona. Subscribers to the two papers also will have free access to premium content at staradvertiser.com and washingtonpost.com.
Ed Moss, Stephens Media CEO, said in a statement that the company "appreciated the opportunity to serve these wonderful markets" but concluded "that they were no longer a strategic fit."
"We are delighted that a newspaper operator of Black Press’ stature will take ownership of and continue to serve these communities and their readers and advertisers," Moss added.
The deal continues OPI’s expansion into the neighbor islands that began in early 2013 when the company purchased The Garden Island newspaper from Iowa-based Lee Enterprises.
"(That purchase) was good for the newspaper, good for employees and good for the residents of Kauai," Francis said. "We were able to bring back the Saturday edition, improve technology for the digital edition, and ensure the needs of the community would be served by a strong daily newspaper on Kauai for decades to come."
In a related transaction, which closed on Wednesday, Sound Publishing, a subsidiary of Black Press, purchased the Aberdeen, Wash., Daily World and three weekly newspapers from Stephens in Washington state.
David Black, founder and chairman of Black Press, said in a statement, "We are pleased to be adding these assets to our business in both Hawaii and Washington as both areas have been sources of growth for Black Press in the past few years."
