Owner of 6 of Maine's 7 dailies will now own 19 weeklies

The man who already owns six of the seven daily newspapers in Maine will add two weeklies to his current stable of 17.

The Portland Press Herald reports Reade Brower is buying the Ellsworth American and its sister paper, the Mount Desert Islander in Bar Harbor. The papers had been owned by Alan Baker. Terms of the sale were not disclosed other than the deal is expected to close Aug. 31.

Brower owns the Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Morning Sentinel in Waterville, Sun Journal in Lewiston, The Times Record in Brunswick, the Journal Tribune in Biddeford, and 17 weeklies.

The Press Herald reports the two new weeklies will continue to operate independently. They have a combined staff of 60 employees and circulation of almost 13,000.