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Times Mirror said on Wednesday that it will sell Auction Universe, its online auction unit, for an undisclosed sum to a group of eight newspapers seeking to sell more classified advertising on the Internet.
Classified Ventures -- jointly owned by the New York Times Co., Tribune Co., Gannett, Knight-Ridder, Central Newspapers, Washington Post Co., McClatchy, and Times Mirror itself -- will operate the Auction Universe sites.
"Together, the media networks of Classified Ventures and Auction Universe reach more than 70 million people every day," said Larry Schwartz, president and CEO of Auction Universe. "We get access to 140 newspapers in the top 50 markets."
Schwartz said that while auction sites like eBay (EBAY) target lower-priced items and aim for a national audience, Auction Universe will pursue the higher-end auction market for products like antiques. In order to do so, he said, the company must pursue local markets through local newspapers.
Times Mirror (TMC), which publishes the Los Angeles Times, has been selling operations that aren't directly related to newspaper publishing.
At the same time, the owners of Classified Ventures haven't been able to come up with an online answer to the free and popular classified sections on leading Internet sites, such as Yahoo.
The change of ownership could help both groups' efforts.
To date, Auction Universe hasn't made much of a name for itself. It currently has advertising and marketing deals with 30 newspapers and media outlets like the Los Angeles Times.
Classified Ventures, owned by the biggest newspaper chains in the United States, was launched last year as an answer to the looming threat of online classified services like Excite's Classifieds2000. Classified Ventures currently runs a national apartment-finding site and a car site, among others.
Analysts said the acquisition could increase Auction Universe's exposure.
"Being embedded in a gigantic media conglomerate may not be the best thing for a Web site," said Vernon Keenan, an analyst at research firm Keenan Vision. "There may be a better cultural fit with this new owner."
