Tribune to sell Hoy paper in New York

Tribune Co. said Monday that it was selling the Spanish-language daily newspaper Hoy New York to ImpreMedia for an undisclosed sum, saying the publication was continuing to lose money.

The sale, expected to close during its first quarter, does not include the Hoy newspapers in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Tribune continues to dispose of select small parts of its overall holdings as it prepares to make a decision on whether to sell or spin off a large chunk of the company or undertake another plan to increase its lagging share price.

The Chicago-based media conglomerate has sold three television stations since last summer, leaving it with 11 daily newspapers -- including the Los Angeles Times -- 23 TV stations, Internet businesses and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Hoy New York, which is free, has a daily circulation of about 56,000.

New York-based ImpreMedia is the owner of New York’s El Diario La Prensa, the nation’s oldest Spanish-language newspaper, with a daily paid circulation of about 50,000, and the weekend paper El Diario Contigo.

Tribune will continue to publish weekly Spanish-language newspapers in Orlando, Fla., and South Florida in addition to the two Hoy editions, which it said would be more closely aligned with The Times and the Chicago Tribune, its two largest dailies.

Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman declined comment on the timing of a meeting of the company’s board, which is thought to be convening this week to review options. Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons reiterated last week that a final announcement on a decision involving the company’s 5-month-old strategic review plan is expected by the end of March.

Three proposals were submitted by the company’s January deadline but none are thought to have been attractive enough for the company to accept. Those offers were made by the Chandler family, Tribune’s largest shareholder; Los Angeles billionaires Ron Burkle and Eli Broad; and the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm based in Washington.

Tribune’s stock fell 20 cents to $30.29.