Times’ owner acquires N.Y. Daily News

Tronc, the parent company of the Los Angeles Times, has acquired the New York Daily News.

The deal for the tabloid, which includes the Daily News’ website and other assets, has been in the works for some months and was finalized Sunday. The deal carries a price tag of $1 and the assumption of operational and pension liabilities.

“We think this is a great deal for the paper and for us,” said Justin Dearborn, Tronc’s chief executive. “We expect it to benefit greatly from becoming part of the Tronc ecosystem.”

Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing, has been actively engaged in high-profile merger talks with other newspapers since technology entrepreneur Michael Ferro became the company’s largest shareholder and chairman in February 2016, but the Daily News acquisition is the first to come to fruition.

In March 2016, Tronc was the top bidder for the bankrupt Orange County Register, but Justice Department antitrust concerns over the Register’s proximity to The Times thwarted the deal. And newspaper chain Gannett abandoned an unsolicited six-month pursuit of Tronc in November.

Acquiring the Daily News comes less than a month after Tronc’s unsuccessful attempt to purchase the Chicago Sun-Times, which was acquired in early August by an investment group led by former Chicago Alderman Edwin Eisendrath and labor unions, among others.

Tronc operates newspapers in nine U.S. markets, including Chicago, Baltimore and Orlando, Fla.

The New York Daily News had been owned since 1993 by billionaire Morton Zuckerman and his onetime business partner, Fred Drasner. The latter left the company in 2004.

Tronc is going all-in on major market newspapers as a platform to grow its digital business.

Tim Knight, Tronc’s president, said: “The Daily News has a great staff and also has 24 million unique visitors to its website. That really fits into our plans.”