The New York Times and The Athletic will no longer be merging as Sahil Patel of “The Information” reported that the two parties have ended discussions regarding the paper’s take over of the sports megasite.
According to the report, there were a few different reasons the deal fell apart. Patel notes that the two parties couldn’t agree on a price and discussions revolved around how employees of The Athletic would be compensated for the equity they hold in the company.
Prior to talks of merging with the New York Times, The Athletic also was exploring a merger with Axios but that deal also fell through a little over a month ago.
BSM recently reported, “The Athletic has over a million paid subscribers signed up for their $7.99 a month content offerings, but their financials are a bit of a mystery. Although a source disclosed to The Wall Street Journal that The Athletic generated $80 million in revenue last year. According to PitchBook, the company’s valuation stood at $475 million during its most recent funding round in January 2020.”
