CHICAGO, March 10 — Classified Ventures LLC, the media company backed by five newspaper publishers including Gannett Co and McClatchy Co, is working with Moelis & Co to seek a sale of its Cars.com website, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
The sale of the auto-sales website is still at an early stage, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Moelis also advised Classified Ventures on its sale of apartments.com, according to a March 3 statement.
Cars.com, which was started in 1998, lets user check prices, compare models and read reviews of auto dealers. It is visited by more than 11 million car buyers a month, according to the Chicago-based venture’s website.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that Classified Ventures may seek US$3 billion (RM3.8 billion). Andrea Hurst, a New York-based spokeswoman for Moelis, declined to comment on the sale of Cars.com. Shannon Swierczek, a spokeswoman for classified ventures, didn’t immediately reply to a voice mail left outside of normal business hours yesterday.
Classified Ventures sold apartments.com for US$585 million to CoStar Group Inc, it said last week. McClatchy, which owns almost 26 per cent of Classified Ventures, separately said its proceeds from that sale will total US$147 million before tax.
Tribune, which publishes the Chicago Tribune and also owns television stations, owns almost 28 per cent of Classified Ventures, while Gannett also owns about 27 per cent. The sale is positive for Tribune’s credit profile, Moody’s said last week.
Spokesmen for the three companies didn’t immediately reply to phone messages seeking comment on the sale.
Classified Ventures is also owned by AH Belo Corp and Graham Holdings Co. — Bloomberg
