The newspaper unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Thursday said it purchased The Free Lance-Star, a newspaper in Fredericksburg, Virginia, from Sandton Capital Partners. BH Media Group did not disclose terms of the purchase, which also included Print Innovators, a commercial printer that prints the newspaper and other publications, the unit said in an email.

Sandton, a specialist in distressed and alternative investments, acquired the assets in bankruptcy in June 2014. The addition of The Free Lance-Star, which has a daily circulation of 31,700, means BH Media now has 32 daily newspapers nation-wide, including the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska and the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. BH Media owns more than 70 newspapers and other titles, as well as WPLG, an ABC-affiliated TV station in Miami, Florida.

In his March 2013 letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said newspaper industry profits are certain to decline, but that papers that report local news well and have sensible Internet strategies "will remain viable for a long time." Berkshire is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Copyright Reuters, 2016