Note 13: Discontinued Operations and Sales of Assets



Discontinued Operations.   In September 2014, The Providence Journal Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, completed a transaction for the (i) sale of substantially all of the assets comprising the newspaper operations of The Providence Journal and related real property located in Providence, Rhode Island, and (ii) assumption of certain liabilities by LMG Rhode Island Holdings, Inc. (“LMG”), a subsidiary of New Media Investment Group Inc. The purchase price consisted of $46,000 plus a working capital adjustment of $2,654. Closing costs of $110 and estimated selling and exit costs of $3,237 were recognized, and a pretax gain on the sale of $17,104 was recorded in 2014.



Upon completion of this divestiture, the Company no longer owns newspaper operations in Providence, Rhode Island and the activity and balances of The Providence Journal are presented as discontinued operations. The Company retains the obligation for the A. H. Belo Pension Plan II, which provides benefits to employees of The Providence Journal Company.



Other Dispositions.   On December 22, 2016, the Company completed the sale of land, in Providence, Rhode Island and received net cash proceeds of $921 and a $1,000 three-year note receivable upon closing of the transaction, generating a loss of $216. On December 27, 2016, the Company completed the sale of a parking lot located in downtown Dallas, Texas. The Company received net cash proceeds of $4,458, generating a gain of $1,842.



In 2015, the Company completed the sale of land and a building which served as the headquarters of The Providence Journal. The Company received net proceeds of $6,119 upon closing of the transaction, generating a loss of $265, which was offset by $328 of returned escrow received in 2016. The Company demolished existing structures on an additional property in Providence, Rhode Island, at a cost of $251.



In 2014, the Company sold the land and building formerly used as a commercial packaging operation in southern Dallas, generating sales proceeds of $6,677 and a gain of $1,827.  The Company also received sales proceeds of $3,408 for the sales of land and buildings in Riverside, California, and 97 acres in undeveloped land in southern Dallas, Texas, resulting in gains totaling $862.