Carpenter Media Group and CNHI, LLC, announced Thursday, they have reached a preliminary agreement for CMG to acquire 10 newspapers spread across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, as well as a print facility in Valdosta, Georgia. The Alabama group sale includes The Cullman Times in Cullman, The News Courier in Athens and St. Clair News Aegis in Pell City.

“Newspapers are bought and sold, but what remains constant is the service our local teams have provided, collectively for the Alabama group of newspapers for hundreds of years, in serving our readers and advertisers in Cullman, Limestone and St. Clair counties,” said Tom Mayer, general manager for the Alabama group. “And that certainly will remain the same as we move forward under new ownership.”

Other newspapers acquired in the sale include The Meridian (MS) Star, Dalton (GA) Daily Citizen, Milledgeville (GA) Union-Recorder, Valdosta (GA) Daily Times, Moultrie (GA) Observer, Thomasville (GA) Times-Enterprise and Tifton (GA) Gazette.

CMG officials said the company is organized and driven to serve and develop communities through excellent local journalism, guiding the marketing and advertising of its small and medium-sized business customers and developing its team members to grow personally and professionally.

“We are pleased to succeed CNHI in ownership and responsibility for these institutions and the communities they serve,” said Todd Carpenter, chairman of CMG. “We have deep appreciation and respect for the leadership provided by Donna Barrett and her team, and we will work hard to build on the good foundations they put down in each place.”

Prior to chairing CMG, Carpenter was a longtime CEO and director of Boone Newsmedia, Inc., which, including CMG’s holdings along with its own, managed 85 newspaper titles, various magazines, websites and other businesses in 12 states. After separating CMG holdings last year from BNI and recent acquisitions, CMG now owns and manages more than 160 titles in the U.S. and Canada.

Donna Barrett, CNHI’s president and CEO, said she is proud of what the newspapers and their teams have accomplished in serving their communities with meaningful local news. “It has been our honor to have these newspapers as part of CNHI,” Barrett said. “We know their good work will continue under Carpenter Media Group.”

Barrett added that newspapers are the heartbeat of local life and that CNHI remains strongly committed to community news. “We believe in local journalism and will continue serving that critical role in CNHI newspapers in 18 states.”

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