As opposed to expectations for a drawn-out soap opera, it took just three weeks for Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk to force the Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) board into yielding.
Twitter confirmed Monday it has agreed to be taken private by Musk for $54.20 per share, or $44 billion in aggregate.
But Musk won't be the first high-profile corporate titan to take over a prominent media company. Here are seven media buys that involved a corporate executive:
1. Bezos Buys Washington Post: Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post newspaper from the Graham family for $250 million in cash. The deal was consummated in September 2013. Amazon, however, did not have any part in the acquisition. The publication's decision to sell came out of the motive to stay afloat amid dwindling revenue growth due to the emergence of digital media.
2. Red Sox' John Henry Laps Up Boston Globe: John Henry, the founder of investment management firm John W. Henry & Company, bought the Boston Globe from The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) in 2013 for $70 million. The publication came into the fold of the Times with the latter's 1993 acquisition of Affiliated Publications, which also included the Boston Globe.
3. Alibaba Buys SCMP: Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group, Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BABA), led then by its founder Jack Ma bought South China Morning Post and its media assets, for $266 million in December 2015.
Related Link: Here's How Much Twitter CEO Could Walk Away With If Elon Musk Shows Him The Door
4. Adelson Takes Control Of Las Vegas Review-Journal: The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper, was bought by Sheldon Adelson, the then chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp.(NYSE:LVS). The transaction took place in December 2016, although the buyer's name was kept anonymous for some time. The deal was valued at $140 million.
5. Jobs' Widow Buys Atlantic: Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) co-founder Steve Jobs took a majority stake in the Atlantic in July 2017.
6. Biotech Executive Scoops Up LA Times: Patrick Soon-Shiong acquired the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, both based out of Southern California, in June 2018 for $500 million. Soon-Shiong, who began his career as a transplant surgeon, is credited with the invention of chemotherapy medication Abraxane, and he is the name behind several healthcare, biotech and artificial intelligence startups.
7. Salesforce Founder Buys Time: Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), purchased Time magazine for $150 million in September 2018. Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff bought the publication from Meredith Corporation. Just like Bezos, the two have clarified that Salesforce did not have any role in the purchase.
Photo: Esther Vargas, Flickr
