DraftKings and FanDuel, as previously reported by Gambling Insider, were among the companies interested in buying The Athletic.
The transaction is expected to finalise in the first quarter of 2022 and is valued at roughly $550 million.
The Athletic and The Athletic had contemplated a transaction earlier this year, but the talks fell through because The Athletic thought the amount proposed was too low.
Following that, Liontree, a merchant banking business, was engaged to execute a formal procedure, which resulted in a price increase for The Athletic.
The New York Times has agreed to buy The Athletic, a sports news subscription service.
The New York Times indicated interest in the sports news subscription since it would increase the number of people who subscribed to the newspaper.
The Athletic will continue to operate independently under the terms of the agreement.
The Atheltic will be provided as a standalone subscription at first, but will gradually become part of a “broader Times bundle,” according to Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of the New York Times Company.
She went on to say that while the New YorkTimes provides “general-interest sports coverage,” the new purchase would provide readers with more in-depth coverage of sports clubs and organisations.
The newspaper had set a goal of 10 million print and digital subscribers until 2025.
Following the news of the acquisition, Levien stated that the firm now aims for “a goal meaningfully larger than 10 million members” and that “we believe The Athletic will enable us to extend our addressable market of prospective customers.”
In late 2020, The Athletic stated that it had reached one million subscribers, and by December 2021, it had reached 1.2 million.