The Press: Sale (?) in Cincinnati

Disposing of a newspaper, even a profitable one, can sometimes be a problem. E.W. Scripps Co., owner of the 18-paper Scripps-Howard chain, had been directed by the Justice Department in 1964 to sell its majority stock interest in Cincinnati’s money-making morning Enquirer (1970 profit: $2,100,000) and thus break up the Scripps-Howard monopoly in the city. Scripps also owns the evening Post & Times-Star. But finding an acceptable buyer for the Enquirer has given Scripps fits.

The paper’s employees offered to buy the stock at $35 a share, and Scripps was willing. But four minority stockholders sued to prevent the sale, claiming the price was too low. Then Scripps announced last month an impending sale to the Blue Chip Stamps Co. of California. That move stimulated a bid of $40 a share from American Financial Corp., a Cincinnati-based holding company. Delighted at the prospect of turning over the paper to a local company, Scripps switched signals and said it would sell to American Financial.

But nobody is signing over any stock just yet. The Justice Department has the right to object to any buyer, and because American Financial is in the banking business, the Federal Reserve Board must give its approval. The Justice Department’s original deadline for divestiture of the Enquirer was Feb. 11, but there was no official complaint when it passed unmet; it seemed Scripps was at least trying to make a sale.