RICHMOND, Va. — Billionaire Warren Buffett is giving up on the newspaper business.

Buffett is selling all of Berkshire Hathaway’s publications — which includes the Richmond Times-Dispatch — to Lee Enterprises for $140 million.

The deal announced Wednesday covers 31 daily newspapers in 10 states as well as 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products.

Buffett is a lifelong fan of newspapers but he has said for several years that he expects most of them to continue on their declining trajectory, save for a handful of national papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Lee has been managing the BH Media publications since July 2018.

Berkshire Hathaway is providing about $576 million in long-term financing to Lee.