Billionaire surgeon takes over at L.A. Times

LOS ANGELES — Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong on Monday will take control of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, two newspapers rooted in Southern California civic life for more than 135 year.

Soon-Shiong is spending $500 million US to acquire the Times and Union-Tribune, as well as community newspapers, from Chicago-based Tronc. The deal, which was announced on Feb. 7, returns the Times to California ownership after 18 years under Chicago control.

Soon-Shiong, who will become executive chairman of the California News Group, plans to move most of the 800 employees from the paper’s Art Deco headquarters in downtown L.A. — the Times’ home since 1935.

Previous corporate owners two years ago had sold the building, and the paper’s lease expires on June 30. Rather than pay a substantial rent increase, SoonShiong will shift the operation to a building near Los Angeles International Airport that he bought last year.

Soon-Shiong, a 65-year-old South Africa native and former UCLA surgeon, amassed a fortune, estimated by Forbes at $7.5 billion, by building, and then selling, two biopharmaceutical companies.

The Times once had one of the world’s largest newsrooms, with more than 1,200 journalists and more than 25 foreign bureaus. Now, it employs about 400 journalists and maintains a handful of foreign and national outposts.

Soon-Shiong has promised to rebuild the Times. His purchase saved the paper from more steep cuts, as Tronc had been making plans to lay off as much as 20 per cent of the staff.

Ravaged by the flight of advertising to the internet, newspapers across North America have slashed news pages and journalists as stores, car dealerships and other advertisers trim their ad buys because their customers, too, are flocking to online sites. Classified ads once buoyed the industry but have largely disappeared.