BALTIMORE — Times-Shamrock Communications announced today that it is placing its alternative weekly division on the market for sale, which includes the Baltimore City Paper.

City Paper is one of five properties in Times-Shamrock’s alt-weekly portfolio; other weeklies in the division now on the market include San Antonio Current, Cleveland Scene, Orlando Weekly, and Detroit Metro Times.

“Baltimore City Paper has been a strong, profitable investment for us for many years,” said Scott Lynett, CEO of Times Shamrock Communications. “As we look to diversify our family’s holdings, it made sense for us to offer City Paper for sale to someone who could take it to the next level of growth.”

Regional Publisher for the Baltimore City Paper, Orlando Weekly, and San Antonio Current, Michael Wagner, expressed enthusiasm for the long-term prospects of these multi-media properties.

“It will be business as usual for all of our alt weeklies during the sales process,” Wagner said. “We are going to continue to serve our readers and advertisers, just like we do every day.”

The sale process will be handles by Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a leading merger-and-acquisition firm in the U.S. newspaper industry.