Bidding war erupts for 3 weekly newspapers

A Texas media investor had to raise his offer for the Tracy Press, Patterson Irrigator and Scotts Valley Press-Banner after the San Francisco Examiner outbid his original offer for the three weekly newspapers.

The papers, owned by the family of Bob Matthews, were eventually sold through bankruptcy court proceedings to H. Lee Wilcox of San Angelo, Texas, for $1.25 million. The Tracy Press reports that a bankruptcy judge in Sacramento approved the sale on Wednesday.

Wilcox had originally agreed to buy the three newspapers from the Matthews family of Tracy for a total price of $1.01 million. Wednesday’s hearing was held to determine if the bid was adequate and if any other bids would be submitted.

After representatives of San Francisco Examiner topped Wilcox’s original bid in court Wednesday, Judge Christopher M. Klein opened back-and-forth bidding, which concluded with Wilcox prevailing.

The San Francisco Examiner was purchased last year by a group that includes David Black, who heads Black Press, a Canadian firm that owns more than 170 community papers in Vancouver and northern Washington state as well as the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and the Honolulu Star Advertiser in the U.S. The Examiner owners also include Todd Vogt, who serves as president and CEO, and Pat Brown, the company's CFO.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described the ownership of the Examiner. This item has since been corrected.