From SouthComm’s press release at The City Paper:

Local publishing company SouthComm Communications announced today it has signed a letter of intent to purchase The City Paper and its companion Web site nashvillecitypaper.com.

Company executives said the move will mean an increased focus on delivering news on the Web site and a reduction in the number of days the paper is published each week.

SouthComm is a relatively new start-up led by former Nashville Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer. SouthComm is the parent company of online news site nashvillepost.com and music business publication Music Row.

Albie Del Favero, publisher of The City Paper, announced the planned sale today to the paper’s staff and said the SouthComm purchase from the Thompson family allows the company to invest further in digital content and delivery. Terms were not disclosed, but the Thompson family will retain a significant minority interest in the new company.

There’s more and Rex Hammock has some thoughts on this as well.

SouthComm has been busy this month:

Earlier this week SouthComm announced its purchase of monthly BusinessTN and intentions to start a new women’s magazine, Her Nashville. “SouthComm is acquiring and creating a suite of niche publications that we hope will be interesting and informative to Nashville-area readers,” said Ferrell. “With our announcements this week, we are beginning to realize our vision of the next-generation publishing company.”