PORTLAND - Several members of an investment group interested in buying the Blethen Maine Newspaper chain are visiting the properties today and meeting the staff and managers.

"I get a great feeling from this," Richard L. Connor, a Bangor native who is a Pennsylvania newspaper publisher, said after a meeting with Newspaper Guild members at the Portland Press Herald.

"I've been through the sale of a paper before and it's very stressful. What I sensed was hope from both groups (management and staff) and the beginning of trust," Connor said. "We have to build on that trust."

Businessman Robert Baldacci, one of the partners in Maine Media Investments and the brother of Maine Gov. John Baldacci, agreed that the meetings went well. It was the first time that Baldacci, who has been involved in major Portland real estate deals, had toured the company's properties in Portland.

He declined to comment on what plans the group may have for the company's real estate holdings, which include several buildings and a large parking lot in downtown Portland.

"This is not a real estate play by any means," Baldacci said. "This is a business."

MaineToday Media, Inc. Inc., which publishes the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville and the Kennebec Journal in Augusta is in exclusive negotiations with Maine Media Investments, which in addition to Baldacci and Connor includes William S. Cohen, a former U.S. senator and secretary of defense; his son, new media executive Kevin Cohen; and developer Michael Liberty.

Baldacci, Connor and Kevin Cohen were at today's meeting with the newspaper staff.

The investors planned to meet with staff at other Blethen Maine Newspaper properties later in the day.

Connor and Baldacci emphasized that they are still deep in negotiations.

"It's a complex road. We're agreeing to trust one another," Connor said.

Editor and Vice President Jeannine Guttman, who was in the managers meeting, said the potential buyers were "very candid" in their remarks.

"I thought they were very earnest in their presentation," Guttman said. "It's also clear that there are a lot of details to work out."