Sidney Harman bought Newsweek for $1, Post Co. to cover up to $10 million of magazine’s bills
By APWednesday, October 6, 2010
Post Co. discloses Newsweek’s price tag: $1
NEW YORK — The Washington Post Co. has revealed exactly how much cash that audio equipment magnate Sidney Harman paid for Newsweek magazine this summer: $1.
The Post Co. also agreed to cover up to $10 million of Newsweek’s existing bills. And it will hold on to certain employee pension liabilities, though it did not spell out a dollar figure in a regulatory filing Wednesday.
No one thought Harman paid much for Newsweek, which lost almost $30 million last year amid circulation and advertising declines.
But the magazine’s sale for less than its $5.95-per-issue price on newsstands is still a grim milestone for a brand that was once a prized asset at the Post Co., which bought Newsweek in 1961.
The filing comes as speculation builds that Harman’s Newsweek will form some kind of partnership with The Daily Beast, a news and opinion site owned by Barry Diller’s media conglomerate, IAC/InterActiveCorp, and run by former New Yorker magazine editor Tina Brown.
In a piece commemorating the site’s second anniversary on Wednesday, Brown answered the buzz about a deal with Newsweek by saying, “Yes, there have been some interesting discussions going on, as we have with potential partners large and small all the time.”
Calls to The Daily Beast and Newsweek seeking further comment were not immediately returned. The Post Co. also declined to elaborate on its filing.
