WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New York Times Company (NYT) Thursdy said it has agreed to buy The Athletic, a digital subscription-based sports media business, for $550 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
The Atheletic provides national and local coverage of more than 200 clubs and teams in the U.S. and around the world. The Athletic was founded in January 2016 by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann. As of December 2021, the site had grown to 1.2 million subscribers.
Meredith Kopit Levien, president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company, said, 'Acquiring The Athletic puts us in a position to be a global leader in sports journalism and offer English speakers around the world another reason to turn to the Times Company to meet their daily news and life needs.'
The Athletic is currently expected to be immediately accretive to The New York Times Company's revenue growth rate. The Times Company 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.
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