Observer buys Pelican Press

SARASOTA — The Observer Group Inc. acquired the Pelican Press and PelicanPress Marketplace from Journal Community Publishing Group Inc., a subsidiary of Journal Communications Inc. (symbol: JRN.)

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Pelican Press was founded as a monthly newspaper for Siesta Key in 1971, and was acquired by Journal Communications in 1998. Its circulation averaged 22,000 a week, according to an audit by the Circulation Verification Council.

The Observer Group owns and operates five newspapers in Florida: the Sarasota Observer, the Longboat Observer, the East County Observer in Manatee County, the Palm Coast Observer in Flagler County and the Gulf Coast Business Review. The Observer Group also publishes Season magazine, a quarterly arts and social guide.

Including its three websites — Yourobserver.com, palmcoastobserver.com and review.net — Observer publications reach an audience of more than 200,000 readers each week.