Landmark Communications is exploring the possibility of selling the company in whole or in parts, according to its newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot.
The company, which owns The Weather Channel, hired JP Morgan and Lehman Bros. to explore strategic alternatives, according to the article. JP Morgan will advise on the sale of TWC and Lehman on the other media assets of Landmark.
This early in the process, it is unclear whether the company will be sold in whole or in parts. Landmark vice chairman Richard Barry said the company was exploring the “possible sale of the company’s businesses.”
The sale of TWC and its related properties, including its heavily trafficked top-20 Web site, could fetch as much as $5 billion, according to the article.
Landmark’s other assets include CBS-affiliated broadcast stations in Nashville, Tenn., and Las Vegas; three metro dailies and a slew of community newspapers; an Internet marketing unit; and managed data-network service.
