It was a coup for local newspaper owners when the news was announced early Saturday morning: John W. Henry, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, would purchase The Boston Globe, along with The Worcester Telegram & Gazette and other properties, from The New York Times Company for $70 million in cash in a deal that will close in a month or two. Despite the lateness of the hour, Mr. Henry, a Boston-area resident, did not contain his enthusiasm about the purchase.

“This is a thriving, dynamic region that needs a strong, sustainable Boston Globe playing an integral role in the community’s long-term future,” Mr. Henry said in a statement.

Mr. Henry benefited in the deal from the fact that the Times Company has agreed to hold onto the group’s pension obligation. While it remains unclear, including to some analysts, how much exactly that is, as of the end of 2012, the Times Company’s overall pension obligation was around $2 billion and was underfunded by $400 million. The company declined to comment on the pension obligations. The Times Company presently has 5,363 employees, of whom 1,849 are employed by the New England Media Group.

The sale continues a recent trend in the struggling newspaper industry: newspapers being returned to local owners, often at bargain-basement prices. When the possibility that the Tribune Company would sell its newspapers emerged this year, both The Los Angeles Times and The Baltimore Sun quickly attracted interested local buyers. Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, said the trend was driven by locals wanting to give back to their hometowns and also by the economic value of the buildings that house the newspapers.