BILLIONAIRE BUYS L. A. TIMES FROM TRONC FOR $ 500M
LOS ANGELES — The struggling Los Angeles Times found a local savior in a biotech billionaire willing to buy the storied newspaper from a corporation half a continent away, but the change of ownership brings its own set of questions.
Dr. Patrick Soon- Shiong agreed to pay $ 500 million and assume $ 90 million in pension liabilities for the Times and San Diego Union- Tribune, Tronc Inc. announced Wednesday. Tronc is the parent company of the Chicago Tribune and other large newspapers.
The news was met with a mix of optimism and skepticism by those who have seen the fourthlargest circulation newspaper roiled by leadership changes in the two decades since it was sold to then- Tribune Co. by the Chandler family.
“Some people might think this could be the white knight, the savior, but nobody knows that,” said Steve Davis, a journalism professor at Syracuse University.
Soon- Shiong said in a statement that he looked forward to carrying on the “great tradition of award- winning journalism” at both papers. Representatives didn’t return messages seeking an interview with him.
He sent a letter to employees of both papers on Wednesday night, saying the decision to buy it is “deeply personal” for him and his family as residents of Southern California.
Tronc stock jumped 19 percent to close at $ 21.55 a share Wednesday.