Bezos, hailed by many as technology visionary, called his acquisition a personal endeavor and reassured employees and readers of the 135-year-old newspaper he will preserve its journalistic tradition, while driving innovation. The acquisition, the latest in a flurry of deals for print publications including the New York Times Co's sale of the Boston Globe for $70 million, is a another sign of the unprecedented challenges newspapers face as advertising revenue and readership decline.
Shares of the Washington Post Co climbed more than 5 percent to $599.85 after hours - their highest level in almost five years. Donald Graham, the chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Co, said in an interview that he and his niece Katharine Weymouth, the Post's publisher, made the decision to put the newspaper up for sale earlier this year after looking at its financial forecasts.
"For the first time in either of our lives we said to each other: is ownership by the Washington Post Co the best thing for the newspaper? We could keep it alive, that wasn't the issue. The issue was could we make it strong?"
Graham and Bezos discussed the deal at two meetings in Sun Valley, Idaho during the annual Allen & Co media and tech conference in July. The investment bank had been retained earlier in the year to gauge potential buyer interest, and is now the banker on the deal.
Source: Reuters
