A New York investment group says it will purchase the Halifax Media Group owned in part by Little Rock investor Warren Stephens.

New Media Investment Group said in a statement Thursday it will pay $280 million for Halifax in a deal expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Halifax, owned by a group including Stephens Capital Partners LLC, boasts combined daily circulation of 635,000 and Sunday circulation of 752,000 from newspapers based mostly in the southeast, the statement said. It is not affiliated with Stephens Media Group, which publishes a number of newspapers in Arkansas.

New Media President and CEO Michael E. Reed called Halifax "one of the premier, locally oriented media companies in the United States."

“Halifax’s publications are all well-established, leading providers of local news in the communities they serve," he said in the statement. "The daily newspapers have demonstrated journalistic excellence and have been awarded multiple Pulitzer Prizes. Additionally, the acquisition further diversifies New Media’s business from both a geographic and customer standpoint."

Halifax, which is based in Florida, in 2012 bought 20 newspapers in Florida and North Carolina. In 2011, it paid $143 million for 16 newspapers owned by the New York Times Company.