ACQUISITION

Tronc Buys New York Daily News

Pays $1 to acquire tabloid and take on all operating costs, debt, and pension liabilities.

Tronc Inc., the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, has purchased the New York Daily News for $1, the Tribune reports. The deal includes the assumption of all debt, operating costs, and pension liabilities. “We are excited to welcome the New York Daily News team to the Tronc family, and we look forward to working with them to serve new audiences and marketers while delivering value for our shareholders,” Tronc CEO Justin Dearborn said in a press release. The daily, with 24 million unique visitors to its website each month, will give a 40 percent boost to Tronc’s digital audience, Tronc President Tim Knight said. Tronc will also acquire the tabloid’s printing press in New Jersey and 49.9 percent of the 25-acre plot on which it sits. The Daily News, owned since 1993 by billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman, was put up for sale in 2015 but pulled from the market when he couldn’t find a buyer.