Washington Post Co. Announces Sale to Amazon Founder

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Citing the “rise of the Internet,” The Washington Post Co. announced that it has agreed to sell the The Washington Post and its affiliated publications to Amazon.com founder and Chief Executive Jeffrey P. Bezos for $250 million in cash. The Post said they expect the transition to occur within the next 60 days.

While Bezos is the current CEO of Amazon, the Amazon Co. is not involved in the acquisition, nor will it be involved in the management of the publication. As The Post reported, “Bezos himself will buy the news organization and become its sole owner when the sale is complete.”

The Post describes the deal as being “as sudden and stunning  turn of events,” saying few employees were made aware of the transaction ahead of time.

The sale of The Washington Post means the end to the newspaper's four generations of leadership by the Graham family under whom the newspaper rose to national significance and broke such historic stories as the Watergate scandal.

It is especially surprising considering the legacy of the newspaper. However, in recent years, The newspaper has had difficulty staying profitable and competitive with a 44 percent decline in operating revenue in the past six years.

The Post names the rise of Internet media, specifically, as contributing to its decline in revenue.

“The rise of the Internet and the epochal change from print to digital technology have created a massive wave of competition for traditional news companies, scattering readers and advertisers across a radically altered news and information landscape and triggering mergers, bankruptcies and consolidation among the owners of print and broadcasting properties.”

Donald Graham said the family was initially shocked at even the thought of selling The Post, but they changed their minds after hearing that the Seattle CEO was seriously interested.

Graham also said that The Post could have remained profitable into the foreseeable future, “but we wanted to do more than survive. I’m not saying this guarantees success, but it gives us a much greater chance of success.”

Jeffrey Bezos, the 49-year-old entrepreneur founded Amazon.com in 1994 after recognizing the potential in using the Internet to build a retail company that would not incur sales tax. In 2000, Bezos also founded Blue Origins, a human spaceflight startup company.

Knowing his history, it is likely he will bring his Internet savvy to The Post, changing the way it delivers news and conducts business. There is no word yet whether the new incarnation of The Post will include local coverage of Northern Virginia, as The Washington Post has traditionally offered, nor if Bezos should choose to convert the print media to more of a multimedia platform.

The Washington Post Co., meanwhile, will be changing its name, but said they will continue to trade publicly.

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