National Enquirer sold to a US magazine distributor

The owner of the American newspaper Tabloid, the National Enquirer, agreed to sell the title to magazine distributor James Cohen.

American Media Inc. (AMI) announced that it would sell the title and two of its sister publications to Mr. Cohen.

The tabloid has been involved in large-scale scandals involving US President Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

The terms of sale have not been disclosed, but the Washington Post has announced a sale price of $ 100 million.

In a statement, AMI stated that it had reached an agreement in principle with Mr. Cohen for the sale of the American and British editions of the title, as well as the Globe and the National Examiner.

"The sale of these brands is testament to their vitality in the current newsstand market, where they continue to generate annual earnings of nearly $ 30 million," said AMI Managing Director David Pecker.

Mr. Cohen's family built the chain of news kiosks at Hudson Airport. The family now owns the US distributor of Hudson News Distributors magazines and books.

"Year after year, Enquirer has continued to be one of the best-selling and most profitable newspaper kiosk titles," said Mr. Cohen.

He announced his intention to strengthen National Enquirer's video and documentary collaborations, as well as its theme park activity.

High level scandals

The National Enquirer is best known for its strange celebrity gossip and criminal cover.

• The boss of Amazon accuses a tabloid of blackmail
• What is the National Enquirer?

Last year, the editor admitted to having helped Mr. Trump's presidential campaign to bury a report on an alleged extramarital affair with a former Playboy model.

Federal prosecutors announced in December that AMI had acknowledged paying $ 150,000 to Karen McDougal for a "catch and kill" recounting her story in the run-up to the 2016 election.

In February, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, accused his owners of trying to blackmail him for obscene photographs.

He added that AMI wanted him to stop investigating how his private messages had been obtained.

Earlier this month, the publisher had announced that he was looking for a buyer for the title, 93 years old.

The tabloid was originally created as New York Evening Enquirer in 1926, when it was distributed as a large format on a Sunday.

At its peak, weekly traffic reached millions, but the Internet had a significant impact on sales.

Last year, circulation was announced at approximately 265,000 copies, down 18% in one year.