Markham family sells Antelope Valley Press

The Markham family has announced the sale of the Antelope Valley Press and its companion publications to a new corporation, Antelope Valley Press Inc., led by veteran newspaper publisher Steven Malkowich. The new owners have newspaper assets in the United States and Canada, including several in California. The terms of the transaction were not announced.

CAL DVM, a California subsidiary of Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., represented the Markham family in the sale.  

The 11,000 daily circulation and 18,000 Sunday circulation Antelope Valley Press has been the newspaper of record for the Antelope Valley since 1915. It celebrated its 100th year of publication in 2015. The Antelope Valley Press has been consistently recognized for its award-winning publications and is looked to throughout the industry as an innovation leader.

William Markham, former Antelope Valley Press publisher, stated, "Now is the time for our family to make way for others with greater resources than ours." He went on to say that he will treasure his relationship with many great employees over the years. He shared ownership of the newspaper with his brother and sister.

The Antelope Valley, located northeast of Los Angeles, saw explosive growth throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It continues to be one of the fastest growing areas in California. The region is anchored by the contiguous municipalities of Palmdale and Lancaster, both of which have grown by around 35 percent over the last 15 years.