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The New York Times Company has agreed to buy The Athletic, acquiring a sports news website with more than one million subscribers, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The deal is valued at about $550 million (€487 million), said the person, who asked not to be identified because it has not been announced. Neither the Times nor The Athletic responded to a request for comment.
Since it was founded six years ago, The Athletic established itself by poaching big-name sports writers from news outlets across the US, and then followed a similar strategy in the UK.
The company raised about $50 million two years ago at a valuation of about $500 million. In November it had about 1.2 million subscribers who pay for access to articles about major professional sports teams in the US, as well as European football clubs.
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In June 2020, The Athletic cut 46 employees, or 8 per cent of its staff. The company was reported to have held talks with the online news site Axios, but negotiations broke down over a range of issues, including price and who would lead the combined company, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal with the Times was reported earlier on Thursday by the Information, a technology publication. – Bloomberg
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