Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of The Los Angeles Times, has denied reports that he was in the process of selling the company.
The denial on Friday came next The Wall Street Journal reported that the billionaire investor sold the company just three years after he bought the Times for $ 500 million in 2018 along with the San Diego Union-Tribune and other Tribune Publishing Company weeklies.
WSJ article is inaccurate. We are committed to the @LATimes, ”tweeted Soon-Shiong. “Newspapers are important to the community. Support the @LATimes and @sdut. ”
Newspapers are important to the community. Support it @LATimes and @dut https://t.co/dn76bM9ROL https://t.co/7kNPl4JZVO
– Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong (@DrPatSoonShiong) February 19, 2021
Citing people familiar with the matter, the paper reported that Soon-Shiong was considering outright selling the company, bringing in an additional investor, or transferring management of the properties to another media group.
The Journal also reported that the billionaire investor was considering selling or transferring management of the San Diego Tribune to another company, possibly MediaNews Group, which is owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
Alden announced last week to acquire Tribune Publishing in a $ 630 million deal.
Steve Severinghaus, a spokesperson for The Journal, told The Hill in a statement, “We are aware of Dr. Soon-Shiong’s tweet. We are confident in our coverage and will continue to follow this evolving story.”
The news comes after Norman Pearlstine announced in December that he retired from his role as editor of the newspaper to take on an advisory role.
A separate recruitment company manages the process of finding Pearlstine replacements.
Updated: 8:40 PM