OLD SAYBROOK, CTñHeartland Publications, LLC Friday announced the purchase of The Logan Banner (Logan, WV) and The Coal Valley News (Madison, WV) from Community Newspaper Holdings Inc of Birmingham, AL. The acquisition brings the number of newspapers owned by Heartland in West Virginia to six.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Michael Bush, Heartland President and CEO, said, šThese newspapers have a long, successful tradition of serving their communities, and we plan to continue that tradition. Our primary goal will be to serve our readers and advertisers with the highest quality community newspapers possible. Logan and Madison are in an area of the country we know well and in which we have already established ourselves with several newspapers.Š

The Pt. Pleasant, Williamson, Pineville and Gilbert, WV newspapers are also owned by Heartland.

Bush said Heartland plans to continue its growth through a program of strategic acquisitions.

šItÆs always a difficult decision to sell newspapers in the communities we serve,Š said CNHI President and CEO Donna Barrett. šWhile no longer strategic to CNHI, we are fortunate these papers fit nicely with HeartlandÆs plans.Š

Heartland Publications, LLC, based in Old Saybrook, CT, now owns and operates 31 paid daily and weekly newspapers in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Carolina and South Carolina. The companyÆs owners are the Wicks Group of Companies, LLC and Wachovia Capital Partners.

The Wicks Group of Companies, LLC is a New York-based private equity firm focused on selected segments of the communications, information and media industries. Wachovia Capital Partners, based in Charlotte, NC, is the principal investing arm of Wachovia Corp.