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Sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media approved by board

Updated Dec 6, 2024, 10:07am EST
mediaUK
Pedestrians walk outside of the The Guardian and The Observer head quarters in London.
Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo/Reuters
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The News

The sale of the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, to UK media company Tortoise Media has been approved in principle, the owners said on Friday, despite strikes earlier this week at its sister publication The Guardian.

Tortoise Media, jointly launched in 2019 by a former BBC executive and a former US ambassador to the UK, purchased the 233-year-old newspaper for a “small sum,” the Financial Times wrote.

The fast-growing “slow news” media company promised to invest $32 million in reviving and growing the title over the next five years. The Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian and The Observer, also said that it would invest in Tortoise to become a key shareholder and take a seat on its editorial and commercial boards.

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The acquisition marks the latest controversial change in British media ownership, as traditional print titles feel the heat from social media and the growing number of digital-forward media companies.

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