Family-controlled Freedom Communications Inc. has postponed plans to buy two minority partners, Blackstone Group LP and Providence Equity Partners, due to weak credit markets.

Freedom, which owns the Orange County (California) Register, had planned to spend more than $500 million to buy back Blackstone and Providence's 45 percent stake, according to people familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The deal was nearly completed a few weeks ago, with Freedom to planning borrow from General Electric Co.'s GE Capital and others to make the purchase.

Negotiations have been suspended, due to trouble in the credit market, as some banks were “leery of lending money to Freedom,” partly because of problems and uncertainties the newspaper industry itself is facing, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A person familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal that the Hoiles family, which controls Freedom's majority stake, will wait for the market to calm down before making another move.

Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom owns more than 30 daily newspapers and eight TV stations.