It was announced today that McClatchy is selling the Star Tribune to Avista Capital Partners for $530 million. McClatchy bought the paper from Cowles Media in 1998 for $1.2 billion. Avista, a New York-based private equity firm founded just last year, manages an eclectic portfolio of investments in media, healthcare, human resources, and energy. While one might argue that McClatchy overpaid for the Star Tribune in 1998, underpriced it in today’s sale, or both, the fact remains that the company destroyed 56% of the daily paper’s value in just 8 years. Even with the massive troubles plaguing the daily newspaper industry, that’s quite a feat. Time will tell if a collection of DLJ merchant bankers will have any better success with their new purchase. I certainly wouldn’t put any money on it.

Tags: Star Tribune, McClatchy, Death of Newspapers, Publishing, Recruitment Advertising, Avista Capital Partners