EO Media Group was the high bidder at an auction Monday for The Bulletin and Redmond Spokesman offering $3.65 million for Central Oregon’s century-old daily newspaper and a sister weekly.
EO Media or East Oregonian Publishing outbid Adams Publishing Group in the auction at the offices of Tonkon Torp LLP in Portland said Michael Fletcher attorney for The Bulletin’s parent company Western Communications. A previous bidder Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers Inc. did not participate in the auction he said. Judge Trish Brown in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon approved the sale which is expected to close at the end of August.
With about $30 million in debt Western Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. It was the company’s second trip to bankruptcy court since 2012 driven by debt from its headquarters building on Chandler Avenue that was built in 2000.
