LA Times billionaire owner plans to take newspaper public

LOS ANGELES - Dr 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 Dr 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.

Dr Soon-Shiong 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.

“We’ll allow it to be democratised and allow the public to have ownership of this paper,” Dr 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.”

He did not elaborate on a timeline beyond saying it should happen over the next year.

Before acquiring the LA Times, Dr Soon-Shiong built his fortune in pharmaceuticals, and he also discussed his work on cancer research during the July 21 interview.

Like other traditional media organisations, the LA Times has in recent years struggled with an advertising and readership downturn. Dr 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