The New York Times struck a deal to acquire sports news site The Athletic, the company announced Thursday.
The New York Times struck a deal to acquire sports news subscription site The Athletic, the company announced Thursday. The deal is valued around $550 million and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. The Information, which first reported on the agreement before it was announced, first reported the value. Shares of the Times were down slightly in after-hours trading. The two companies discussed a deal earlier this year but those talks broke down when the Times offered a price that The Athletic felt was too low, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. At that point, it hired Liontree to run a formal process. That lifted the purchase price for The Athletic, the source said. The Times expressed interest in The Athletic because it expands the world of potential Times subscribers, the person said. The Athletic will continue to operate as a standalone site, the Times said in its announcement.
