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A consortium headed by a pair of New Mexico businessmen has withdrawn its offer to purchase The Albuquerque Tribune.

Tom Carroll and Doug Turner issued a statement this afternoon saying they have determined "the transaction at this time is not viable."

"We were unable to put the package together," Carroll told The Tribune today. "We were unable to hold all the pieces together over the long run."

Finding funding for the newspaper, negotiating the purchase and dealing with future operations all kept the deal from going through, he said.

The Tribune has been up for purchase since Aug. 28, 2007, when its owner, Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps, announced that it would sell the newspaper or close it if a buyer could not be found.

Carroll and Turner, who head an Albuquerque public relations firm, emerged as the leading candidates to buy the newspaper. The Trib has a circulation of about 9,600.

Officials at Scripps confirmed they were no longer negotiating with Turner and Carroll. But Scripps spokesman Tim Stautberg said "the sale process is not yet completed, so no final outcome has been determined."

Stautberg added the company hoped a resolution would "come as soon as possible."

"The timetable for concluding the sale process has not been determined," he said.

The Trib, which distributes six days a week in the afternoon, has operated since 1933 under a Joint Operating Agreement with the Journal Publishing Co., which owns the Albuquerque Journal.

The newspapers' editorial staffs operate independently of one another.

Under terms of the joint operating agreement, Albuquerque Publishing Co., formed by the two partners, has been responsible for the business operations of The Trib - including advertising, subscription sales, production and distribution.

Trib Editor Phill Casaus said the newspaper would continue to operate as it has until a resolution has been reached.

"We'll keep doing our jobs until someone tells us not to do them anymore," he said.