Who wants to buy the National Enquirer and sells exactly the owner?

American Media Inc. is trying to sell the most famous publication, National Enquirer. The question remains: who wants to buy and sell exactly AMI?

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the board of directors confirmed a Washington Post report that it was "exploring strategic options" for Enquirer and two other tabloids, "which will likely lead to their sale in the near future."

On Thursday morning, the New York Times reported that Enquirer's representatives were "at the heart of their negotiations" with billionaire Ron Burkle, who made a fortune as a supermarket magnate and has long been a donor of political causes Democrats. He and former President Bill Clinton are friends, which inevitably raises questions about Enquirer's close relationship with President Trump and the possible political motivations of Burkle when he bought the tabloid.

Two sources familiar with the discussions confirmed to The Post that Burkle and Enquirer were talking about a possible deal.

But soon after, Frank Quintero, a spokesman for Burkle's investment company Yucaipa, denied the news. "We are not interested in pursuing the National Enquirer," Quintero told The Post.

[National Enquirer expected to be sold imminently as parent company faces pressure]

David Pecker, CEO of American Media, and Burkle, partners in Radar Magazine and Radar.com, which are now closed, have already expressed themselves following the announcement of Enquirer, said one close to the debate who had requested the anonymity was not allowed to speak about it publicly. In this discussion, Burkle expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that his name is presented as a possible buyer, added the person.

However, MAI spokesman Jon Hammond said Burkle and Pecker had not spoken, and he declined to comment on the tabloid sale talks.

"Pecker and Burkle have a pre-existing relationship," said another person speaking under the guise of anonymity and knowing the negotiations, but not being allowed to talk about it openly. "Burkle is not involved in Trump or anything like that. He is not in the game for politics. He is ready to make money. "

Burkle has already expressed interest in buying media properties, including the Wall Street Journal and Knight-Ridder newspapers. He has not made any offer for one or the other property.

In 2006, the loathsome Burkle press accused a New York Post editorialist of trying to shake him up for hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for not writing about his personal life. In 2002, he told federal investigators that Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano had also asked for a payment in exchange for Pellicano's failure to investigate him.

Enquirer's accounts of the 2016 presidential election – praising Trump's candidacy and attacking his rivals – mostly passed under the radar of the mainstream media and had been largely due to Trump's mentions during the presidential election. countryside.

But the Enquirer is also known for the information that he holds but that he has not printed. Enquirer keeps a safe in his office. A person who is familiar with his content said he has information about celebrities, including Trump, Charlie Sheen and Tiger Woods.

The "catch-and-kill" agreement between the tabloid and the former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to whom the Enquirer paid to remain silent on his alleged long time deal with Trump, was also kept in the safe.

Any prospective purchaser of Enquirer would likely purchase all tabloid report documents and its records., which contains famous images such as the corpse of Elvis Pressley in his coffin, among others.

The tabloid's "catch and kill" tactic, in which a source is paid for exclusive rights over a story but the article is never published, put the company, Pecker, and AMI's main content agent , Dylan Howard, in danger. The two men were about to be charged when they entered into a non-prosecution agreement with federal investigators who were reviewing their efforts to tip Trump's election.

But this heat seems to have been excessive for the AMI board, which has begun to debate whether it should unload the newspaper in August, while non-prosecution agreements are being finalized. A person informed of the board's discussions told The Post that the board had held these discussions because it "no longer wanted to deal with problems like this".

Two of AMI's board members work for Chatham Asset Management, which is led by Anthony Melchiorre and controls 80% of AMI's capital. The other two board members are Pecker and a former Trump Casinos executive. Although Melchiorre himself does not sit at council meetings, he made his presence felt through the intermediary of his two representatives.

Melchiorre, who dined with Trump alongside Pecker, was baffled by reports of illegal electoral interference by Enquirer. But he was "disgusted" by reports from the tabloid on the extramarital affair of Jeff Bezos, who accused AMI of extortion and blackmail, according to a person familiar with the internal deliberations on the sale of AMI.