Cablevision wins bid for Newsday

E&P reports “Tribune will receive $612 million in cash, with its 3% equity stake in the partnership valued at $20 million.”

The deal gives cable television operator Cablevision the ability to combine marketing forces with a daily that has a virtual monopoly in affluent Long Island -- and it gives Tribune a timely infusion of cash as it faces a big payment on the $8.2 billion in debt it took on to go private last December.

Cablevision owns the NBA’s New York Knicks, NHL’s New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden and the purchase of Newsday marks it's “first foray” into newspaper ownership.

The deal brings the newspaper back to local ownership.

"We admire Newsday's strong editorial voice and reputation for quality as well as its leadership in print and online journalism," Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan [pictured] said in a statement. "We are committed to maintaining Newsday's journalistic integrity and important position in the marketplace," Dolan said.

Here's a few numbers from Bloomberg :

Newsday had a circulation of 379,613 in the six months through March, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. That's a 4.7 percent drop from a year earlier. The newspaper had $80 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization last year, a person familiar with the sale talks said last month.