On Wednesday, the New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) announced that it is seeking a buyer for The Boston Globe.

This marks the second time in four years that the NYT has tried to unload the Boston newspaper that it purchased in 1993 for $1.1 billion. It put the Globe up for sale in 2009, but halted efforts to find a buyer after the newspaper implemented a successful round of cost-cutting, the Associated Press noted.

While the New York Times has positioned itself as a major national and international news outlet, the Globe mostly caters to a New England audience. The Times has amassed more than 640,000 digital subscribers compared to just 28,000 for the Globe. Last fall, the Globe’

s weekday circulation was about 230,351, down from 413,000 in 2002.

A UBS (NYSE:UBS) analyst estimated that NYT could receive between $150 million and $175 million from the Globe‘s sale. That estimate did not include the price of the Globe‘s headquarters building. NYT is also planning to shed the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, GlobeDirect, several websites and its 49% stake in Metro Boston.

Last year, NYT sold About.com to Answers.com for about $270 million.

NYT shares slipped fractionally in Thursday morning trading.