NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The Washington Post Company announced Monday it was selling its newspaper business, including the flagship Washington Post, to Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos for $250 million.
Bezos is gaining control of the Post from the Graham family, which has led it for decades.
“Everyone at the Post Company and everyone in our family has always been proud of The Washington Post — of the newspaper we publish and of the people who write and produce it,” Washington Post Company CEO Donald Graham said in a statement.
“I, along with [Post CEO and publisher] Katharine Weymouth and our board of directors, decided to sell only after years of familiar newspaper-industry challenges made us wonder if there might be another owner who would be better for the Post,” Graham said.
“Jeff Bezos’ proven technology and business genius, his long-term approach and his personal decency make him a uniquely good new owner for the Post.”
Bezos, who is acquiring the paper in his personal capacity, and not through Amazon.com, said he understood “the critical role the Post plays in Washington, DC and our nation.”
“Our duty to readers will continue to be the heart of the Post, and I am very optimistic about the future,” he said.
Bezos has asked Weymouth to stay on as publisher and CEO of the Post, and Martin Baron to remain as executive editor.
The deal also includes the Express newspaper, The Gazette Newspapers, Southern Maryland Newspapers, Fairfax County Times, El Tiempo Latino and Greater Washington Publishing.
The Washington Post Company will maintain its ownership of media titles including Foreign Policy magazine, online magazine Slate and TheRoot.com, as well as education company Kaplan.
The news follows the New York Times Company’s announcement just days earlier that it had sold the Boston Globe for $70 million to sports magnate John W. Henry.
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