Harte-Hanks Deal to Sell 4 Papers Runs Into a Snag

SAN DIEGO â€”  The deal to sell Harte-Hanks Communications’ four San Diego newspaper operations to the company’s president apparently collapsed Tuesday.

Harte-Hanks Newspapers President Tucker Sutherland had agreed to buy the La Jolla Light, Coronado Journal, Star News Publications and Publishers Offset from Worrell Enterprises, a Charlottesville, Va.-based multimedia company.

But Worrell, which on Tuesday completed its purchase of 25 newspapers from Harte-Hanks, “made some changes in the option as they went along (which) made it difficult for me to complete the financing,� Sutherland said Tuesday.

“The original agreement was a simple option,� said Sutherland, adding that it “has gotten more complicated since then.�

Sutherland would not elaborate, and Worrell officials could not be reached.

Sutherland said “the deal is not dead� but acknowledged that it has hit some serious snags.

He said he expects to hear a final decision from Worrell officials sometime today.

The Worrell deal, reached last month, was part of San Antonio-based Harte-Hanks’ restructuring plan that included the sale of 56 smaller media operations.

Local Harte-Hanks properties, anticipating the sale to Sutherland, had already embarked on changes in the San Diego papers.

Recently, the Star-News closed its Clairemont, Linda Vista and beach area editions, and announced plans to begin a Pacific Beach Light to be operated by the La Jolla Light.

“We drew up our plans with Tucker’s blessings,� La Jolla Light Publisher Phyllis Pfeiffer said. “We have every reason to believe it will go ahead as planned.�

When the Sutherland deal was announced in November, Pfeiffer said the purchase would “mean very little, if any, change for our operation� because of Sutherland’s past connection to the operations.