News

Alabama chain buys Transylvania Times

By Lightning Reports, Published: May 9, 2021

CNHI LLC, an Alabama-based chain of 90 communnity newspapers, has acquired The Transylvania Times in Brevard from The Transylvania Times Inc., the family-owned company that has published the paper for the past 80 years,

Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented CNHI in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

The Transylvania Times is the latest addition to Montgomery, Alabama-based CNHI, which operates community newspapers, websites and niche publications in 22 Midwest, Southeast, Southwest and Northeast states.

The Transylvania Times’ history dates to July 1, 1887. It has been owned by the Anderson and Trapp families since 1941 and publishes twice a week. Co-publishers Sean and Leigh Trapp are the third generation to run the paper. Their mother, Stella Anderson Trapp, published and edited the paper for more than 30 years before her death in December of 2020.

“We are honored to be able to continue the journalism and public service legacy of The Transylvania Times in serving the residents and businesses throughout Transylvania County,” said Donna Barrett, president and CEO of CNHI. “We are committed to the newspaper’s role as a significant institution and source of information in the market.”

The paper was first named The Transylvania Pioneer. Later titles included The French Broad Hustler, The Sylvan Valley News and the Brevard News. It became The Transylvania Times in 1931.