Ross McDuffie, at far right, chief portfolio officer for the National Trust for Local News, speaks during a gathering Tuesday at the University of Maine at Augusta with employees of the newly formed Maine Trust for Local News, which includes the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. CEO and Publisher Lisa DeSisto, third from right, spoke to employees as well about the new company. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The sale of most of Maine’s daily newspapers, including the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal, to a national nonprofit that has pledged to preserve and invest in local news has been finalized.

Masthead Maine owner Reade Brower and Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, chief executive officer and founder of the National Trust for Local News, confirmed Tuesday that the sale has closed.

“I am so grateful to Reade Brower for believing in the vision and mission of the National Trust for Local News, and for entrusting us with the future of these incredible local news outlets,” Hansen Shapiro said in an email.

“I’m happy with the outcome,” Brower said in an interview. “I’m hoping it’s the best possible course for the next steward of the papers.”

In addition to the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal, Masthead Maine included the Portland Press Herald, Sun Journal in Lewiston, The Times Record in Brunswick and 17 weekly papers in southern and western Maine, including the Forecaster group.

With the sale, the papers are now part of the Maine Trust for Local News, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Local News.

News of the sale was announced July 10. Brower and the National Trust for Local News said at the time that they expected the sale to be finalized by the end of July.

Lisa DeSisto, who served as chief executive officer of Masthead Maine and is now CEO and publisher of the Maine Trust for Local News, announced the news of the sale being finalized in an email to employees Tuesday.

Lisa DeSisto, the CEO and publisher of Maine Trust for Local News, speaks to employees at the Portland Press Herald office on Tuesday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

She was joined in South Portland for a meeting and celebration with staff by National Trust for Local News Chief Portfolio Officer Ross McDuffie, who introduced the trust and answered questions. The two were also expected to visit other properties in the Maine Trust for Local News later in the day.

“It is really a blessing for us to be a part of the National Trust for Local News,” DeSisto said at the South Portland meeting. “We are the Maine Trust for Local News and I’m so excited to share this news with all of you.

“We’ve been reading about some of the really unpleasant outcomes for newspaper organizations across the country and I can’t imagine one that is more opposite than what we’ve seen out there.”

Scott Monroe, managing editor of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, said news of the sale being finalized marked a hopeful new era for the community newspapers.

“As we heard today from Ross McDuffie, all eyes — in state and across the country — are on this newspaper model,” Monroe said. “I think we’re all excited by the possibilities for investment in service of journalism that’s vital for our communities.”

Aimsel Ponti, a music writer at the Press Herald and secretary of the News Guild of Maine, a union representing nearly 200 workers at the Press Herald and Morning Sentinel, said in a statement Tuesday that the initial meeting with McDuffie was positive.

Ross McDuffie, chief portfolio officer for the National Trust for Local News, speaks during a gathering Tuesday at the University of Maine at Augusta with employees of the newly formed Maine Trust for Local News, which includes the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“We look forward to working with him and other representatives from the National Trust for Local News/ Maine Trust for Local News,” Ponti said. “We appreciate that our current contract is being honored and look forward to negotiating the next one later this year.”

The acquisition was made with a mix of financing and support from the National Trust’s general operating fund amid local fundraising efforts, according to a memo to employees Tuesday.

The National Trust said it plans to share more information about who supported the purchase when it constitutes a local board in September. The nonprofit’s website lists more than a dozen general funders of the organization, including the Knight Foundation, Gates Family Foundation and Google News Initiative.

The Maine Journalism Foundation, which launched last spring with the goal of acquiring Masthead Maine and operating its newspapers under a nonprofit model, also contributed local donations for the sale.

Bill Nemitz, president of the board of the foundation, did not respond to a voicemail message Tuesday seeking information about the future of the foundation.

McDuffie said the foundation and local voices will continue to play an important role in the National Trust but what that will look like long-term is still being worked out as the National Trust establishes a local governance model.

“We’re very eager to have the experts at MJF play a part in that,” he said.