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Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The LA Times' billionaire owner says he plans to take the paper public and 'allow it to be democratized'
The owner of the LA Times said he's going to take the paper public. Billionaire investor and businessman, Patrick Soon-Shiong, said the IPO will happen over the next year. The move would allow the paper to be "democratized," he said in an episode of "The Daily Show." Soon-Shiong, a businessman, investor, and medical researcher, broke the news in a Monday episode of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." "I'm going to announce something with you tonight," he said to Stewart. "Is that we're going to take LA Times public and allow it to be democratized, and allow the public to have the ownership of the paper." The announcement was followed by cheering and applause from the audience. Soon-Shiong, through his investment firm Nant Capital, took over ownership of the paper in 2018 and became its executive chairman. It was previously owned by media company Tronc. He said to Stewart that the IPO would go through over the next year. If it goes through, the LA Times will join other publicly traded news giants like The New York Times Co. Soon-Shiong is also the executive chairman of ImmunityBio, a biotechnology company that develops vaccines and therapies for cancer and other diseases. He said he grew up in South Africa during apartheid, without access to television, so he highly valued newspapers and radio. "As I grew up in South Africa, the only thing that inspired me and kept me alive was the newspaper," he said on "The Daily Show." He added, "So the opportunity for me, working on cancer and healing, hopefully curing cancer, is to have a place where the people, the voice of the people, truly the voice of the people, could be heard."
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The LA Times' billionaire owner says he plans to take the paper public and 'allow it to be democratized'
The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced that he is taking the paper public. Soon-Shiong, a businessman, investor, and medical researcher, broke the news in a Monday episode of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." "I'm going to announce something with you tonight," he said to Stewart. "Is that we're going to take LA Times public and allow it to be democratized, and allow the public to have the ownership of the paper." The announcement was followed by cheering and applause from the audience. Soon-Shiong, through his investment firm Nant Capital, took over ownership of the paper in 2018 and became its executive chairman. It was previously owned by media company Tronc. He said to Stewart that the IPO would go through over the next year. If it goes through, the LA Times will join other publicly traded news giants like The New York Times Co. and Tribune Publishing Co. Soon-Shiong is also the executive chairman of ImmunityBio, a biotechnology company that develops vaccines and therapies for cancer and other diseases. He said he grew up in South Africa during apartheid, without access to television, so he highly valued newspapers and radio. "As I grew up in South Africa, the only thing that inspired me and kept me alive was the newspaper," he said on "The Daily Show." He added, "So the opportunity for me, working on cancer and healing, hopefully curing cancer, is to have a place where the people, the voice of the people, truly the voice of the people, could be heard." Representatives for the LA Times and its union, the LA Times Guild, did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
LA Times owner says he will take newspaper public in next year
A public offering would happen 'over the next year,' Soon-Shiong said on 'The Daily Show' in a taped interview with the host, Jon Stewart. He did not share any details or address whether this would dilute his control over the newspaper. The 2018 purchase was carried out by Nant Capital, his private investment arm. Advertisement That acquisition placed the newspaper under local ownership for the first time in nearly two decades, but his public comments in the past year and his decisions about editorial direction have stirred unrest in the newsroom. Last year, the head of the editorial board resigned after Soon-Shiong prevented the newspaper from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Soon-Shiong said on The Daily Show on Monday that taking the company public would 'democratize' it and would allow the public to 'take ownership,' though he did not detail how that would work. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
LA Times billionaire owner plans to take newspaper public
Mr Patrick Soon-Shiong plans to take the Los Angeles Times public over the next year, the billionaire owner told Jon Stewart on July 21 night. Mr Patrick Soon-Shiong plans to take the Los Angeles Times public over the next year, the billionaire owner told Jon Stewart on July 21 night. The newspaper has been under his stewardship since 2018, when his Nant Capital investment vehicle purchased it in a US$500 million deal. South Africa-born Mr Soon-Shiong helped steady the business after a clash between its editorial staff and the previous owners. If an initial public offering goes ahead, the LA Times would join former parent Tribune Publishing Co. and The New York Times Co. among the largest publicly traded news organisations. It would give investors a chance to own a piece of one of the oldest and largest media outlets in California, the richest US state. 'We'll allow it to be democratised and allow the public to have ownership of this paper,' Mr Soon-Shiong said on The Daily Show. 'Unless you have truth and trust, I think we're not going to have healing in this country.' Before acquiring the LA Times, Mr Soon-Shiong built his fortune in pharmaceuticals, and he discussed his work on cancer research during the July 21 interview. He said it is important for the US to have a trustworthy source of news – for both sides of the political divide – and therefore wanted to allow Americans the ability to own it. He did not elaborate on a timeline beyond saying it should happen over the next year. Like other traditional media organisations, the LA Times has in recent years struggled with an advertising and readership downturn. Mr Soon-Shiong, like fellow billionaire owner Jeff Bezos did with the Washington Post, blocked his newspaper from publishing an endorsement in the 2024 US presidential election, leading some of his editors to resign in protest. BLOOMBERG
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong plans to take LA Times public over next year
The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong, plans to take the newspaper public over the next one year, according to a Bloomberg report. Shiong unveiled his plans to launch a public offering for his newspaper on 'The Daily Show' with Jon Stewart on Monday night. 'We'll allow it to be democratised and allow the public to have ownership of this paper,' Soon-Shiong said on The Daily Show, according to the Bloomberg report. 'Unless you have truth and trust, I think we're not going to have healing in this country.' Shiong has been at the helm of the newspaper since 2018, when his Nant Capital investment vehicle purchased it in a $500 million deal. South Africa-born Soon-Shiong helped steady the business after a clash between its editorial staff and the previous owners. According to the information on the company's website, The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with more than 40 million unique visitors monthly, Sunday print readership of 1.6 million and a combined print and online local weekly audience of 4.4 million. The Pulitzer Prize-winning LA Times has been covering Southern California for more than 143 years.
