The L.A. Times is denying a new report suggesting that owner Patrick Soon-Shiong is gearing up to sell the paper to media tycoon Jay Penske. The Intersect's Joel Bel Bruno reported, citing two people familiar with the alleged talks, that the pair of media heads have been discussing folding the L.A. Times into a media folder owned by Penske that already includes The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Variety, and Rolling Stone. Soon-Shiong first bought the Times and Union-Tribune in 2018 for $500 million, but numerous media organizations have been facing a dip in readership and advertising revenue in recent months. Despite the sale of the Union-Tribune, the L.A. Times communications department insisted through Twitter that Soon-Shiong and his family have no intention of unloading the paper. The Soon-Shiongs have no interest in selling the L.A. Times," the comms department tweeted following the Intercept report.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 17, 2023 14:18 UTC