New York Times sells half of Red Sox stake

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Times Co said on Friday it sold more than half its stake in the company which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and is looking to sell the rest of its share.

The media group sold 390 of the 700 Class B units it holds in Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to three separate buyers in deals concluded on Friday, for a total of $117 million in cash, it said in a regulatory filing. It expects to record a pre-tax gain of about $64 million in the third quarter.

The New York Times now owns 310 Class B units of FSG, which it said it is looking to sell, in whole or in parts.

FSG owns the Boston Red Sox baseball club, British soccer team Liverpool Football Club and about 80 percent of New England Sports Network, a regional cable sports network that televises the Red Sox and Boston Bruins hockey games. FSG also owns half of the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby)