Tabloid at centre of Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos controversies to be sold

National Enquirer, a tabloid enmeshed in scandals over payment of hush money on Donald Trump's behalf and leak of private messs from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, is being sold to a private investor, publisher has said.

American Media LLC said on April 18 it h reached an agreement in principle with James Cohen, owner and chief executive of Hudson Media, for sale of Enquirer's US and UK editions along with sister tabloids Globe and National Examiner.

Terms of deal were t anunced, but Washington Post reported that sale price would be some USD 100 million.

AMI said agreement includes a multi-year service contract that will generate "substantial fees" for publishing, financial and distribution services.

" sale of se brands shows ir vitality in today's newsstand marketplace where y continue to generate nearly $30 million in profit annually," said American Media President and CEO David Pecker.

Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump, was reportedly offered immunity as part of an investigation into payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep m from revealing alleged affairs.

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According to federal prosecutors, AMI paid USD 150,000 to McDougal to keep her from going public with her claim to have h an affair with Trump. Prosecutors said AMI me payment at request of Trump's former attorney.

More recently, Bezos accused tabloid of trying to blackmail him by threatening to publish intimate exchanges with his mistress as he was in process of divorcing his wife.

An investigator hired by Bezos said he concluded that pictures and texts from Amazon CEO's phone were hacked by Saudi Arabian authorities.

Cohen, whose company owns a large chain of airport newsstands, said he plans to accelerate Enquirer's current collaborations in video and documentary programs as well as me park business, which has sites in Missouri and Tennessee.

"Year after year, Enquirer has continued to be one of best-selling and most profitable newsstand titles," said Cohen. "But this transaction is about more than a weekly publication, it's about a brand with extraordinary potential across multiple platforms."

AMI, which also publishes magazines Us Weekly, Star, Life & Style, Closer and Men's Journal, said deal would be finalised as soon as possible after regulatory approvals and would allow company to reduce its debt. 

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