Tronc is looking to expand its media empire by acquiring US Weekly for $100 million, the New York Times and New York Post are reporting.
The publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune is reportedly in late stage talks with US Weekly owner Wenner Media, though the negotiations are private and talks could fall through.
The move comes just months after Tronc fought off an attempted buyout by Gannett Co., which abandoned a takeover of the media giant in November. The victory was somewhat bittersweet however, as Tronc’s stock price dropped by 20 percent in the days after.
Wenner, which also publishes Rolling Stone and Men’s Journal, accumulated significant debt in 2006 after buying back a 50 percent share in US Weekly from Disney for $300 million.
