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The New York Times has agreed to acquire The Athletic in an all-cash deal valuing the sports media startup at $550 million, the company said Thursday.
It's a huge victory for The Athletic, which had been shopping a deal for months. The subscription-based sports media company was under pressure to sell in light of how much cash it's lost over the past two years.
The Times said it expects The Athletic to be "immediately accretive to The New York Times Company’s revenue growth rate," but that it "expects the acquisition will be dilutive to The New York Times Company’s operating profit for approximately three years, as it scales subscriptions and builds an advertising business, and accretive thereafter."
The Athletic co-founders Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann will stay on after the deal, per a statement. Mather will be The Athletic’s general manager and co-president and Hansmann with be chief operating officer and co-president.
Mather and Hansmann will report to David Perpich, Head of Standalone Products at The Times, who will become publisher of The Athletic. Perpich currently manages The Times ancillary subscription products, like Wirecutter, Games and Cooking.
The Athletic will be a subsidiary of The Times and operate separately.
It's a huge victory for The Athletic, which had been shopping a deal for months. The subscription-based sports media company was under pressure to sell in light of how much cash it's lost over the past two years.
The Times said it expects The Athletic to be "immediately accretive to The New York Times Company’s revenue growth rate," but that it "expects the acquisition will be dilutive to The New York Times Company’s operating profit for approximately three years, as it scales subscriptions and builds an advertising business, and accretive thereafter."
The Athletic co-founders Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann will stay on after the deal, per a statement. Mather will be The Athletic’s general manager and co-president and Hansmann with be chief operating officer and co-president.
Mather and Hansmann will report to David Perpich, Head of Standalone Products at The Times, who will become publisher of The Athletic. Perpich currently manages The Times ancillary subscription products, like Wirecutter, Games and Cooking.
The Athletic will be a subsidiary of The Times and operate separately.
The New York Times to acquire The Athletic for $550 million in cash
It's a huge victory for The Athletic, which had been shopping a deal for months.
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