New York Times sells the Boston Globe to Red Sox owner

(Reuters) - The New York Times Co has agreed to sell The Boston Globe to the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, John W. Henry, for $70 million in cash, ending its 20-year ownership of the paper.

The transaction announced on Saturday includes the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, related digital properties of both papers, and a direct mail marketing company.

The sale caps years of uncertainty for the Globe, which was put on the auction block twice.

The New England properties were the last pieces of a once much bigger empire. The New York Times Co has sold off everything - TV and radio assets, dozens of U.S. regional papers, digital companies, and its stakes in sports ventures - to focus solely on its flagship and international edition.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Vicki Allen)