Billionaire owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA team Glen Taylor has made a cash offer to acquire the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, the latest mogul to add a struggling newspaper to his business slate.
“I’m interested in this one because it’s a Minnesota paper,” Taylor told the Star Tribune. “For the long run, if we can continue to have a news media that’s consistent, fair, broad-based … I think it’s in the interest of our state. I would be proud to be part of that.”
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Taylor, who has a net worth of $1.8 billion according to Forbes, would not take a leadership role on the paper and would maintain its current leadership.
Star Tribune Publisher and CEO Mike Klingensmith said that Taylor’s roots in Minnesota and business acumen would benefit the newspaper, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2009.
Taylor is just the latest business mogul to expand his business dealings into the media realm. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos acquired the Washington Post from the Graham family in August 2013 for $250 million, and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry bought the Boston Globe for $70 million in October.
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The Star Tribune and Taylor have agreed to a deal, pending a 60-day period of review. Terms of the deal were not made immediately available.