The Mystery Is Over: Billionaire Adelson Owns Las Vegas Paper

The company’s $102.5 million purchase of Stephens Media, the Review-Journal’s former owner, in February valued the Review-Journal by itself at around $80 million, according to people at the newspaper.

Speculation has mounted for days in that Adelson was the main backer of News source + Media Capital Group LLC, a secret group that acquired the Evaluate-Journal and a number of other local papers on Thurs. for $140 million.

He said the public company had no intention to resell the paper, but it did so out of fiduciary duty in the interest of its shareholders when it was made an offer of $140 million.

They always claimed to announce their ownership but delayed it due to fact that the Venetian, one of the properties owned by the magnate, hosted Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, the note said. Asked by CNNMoney at the Republican debates on Tuesday if he was in fact the owner, he said he had no “personal involvement” with the paper. Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson addresses the media during the grand opening ceremony of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Speculation had been focusing on Adelson with pundits theorizing that the deep-pocketed GOP kingmaker could be planning to use the paper to sway the presidential race. How that will play out is still up in the air, especially since Review Journal’s editorial writers are in the dark as to who really signs their paychecks. Journalists have run into obstacles covering the mystery, with publisher Jason Taylor stopping the presses to remove quotes from the paper’s editor expressing concern over the buyer’s secret arrangement.

In the last presidential campaign, he and his wife, Miriam, spent about $100 million and the couple are expected to generously help whomever they endorse for president in 2016.

On Wednesday, Fortune Magazine appeared to put the whodunit to bed when it reported that Adelson, who owns Israel’s largest circulation daily, had bought the paper, citing several unnamed sources. Morton and other staffers who expressed frustration on social media and demanded to know the identity of the buyer have declined to comment to The Associated Press.

The secretive deal has thrust the newspaper, which is in the business of finding out things, into the odd position of being unable to tell its readers who owns it. That included one in which News + Media’s manager, Michael Schroeder, implored staff to focus on their jobs and not worry about the new owners.

In its statement, the Adelson family said it purchased the Review-Journal through a “wholly-owned fund, as both a financial investment as well as an investment in the future of the Las Vegas community”.

Adelson’s family confirmed they are the owners of Nevada’s largest newspaper in a statement in Thursday’s edition, ending a weeklong mystery.

Ken Doctor, a media analyst, crunched the numbers and said the previous owner effectively flipped the newspaper for a profit.

“We hope whoever bought it will allow journalists to produce journalism that is ethical, responsible, and thorough”, said Seaman.