Colombia’s richest man puchased a majority stake in the country’s largest daily newspaper, El Tiempo, reported local media Wednesday.
The details, which were finalized last week after four months of negotiations, saw Luis Carlos Sarmiento, a construction and financial tycoon, take an 88% stake in the national paper.
He purchased a 55% majority holding from Spanish media group Planeta for an estimated $292 million, which was added to the 33% he already held, reported Colombian magazine Semana Saturday.
Sarmiento, number 64 on Forbes list of richest people, claims that he bought El Tiempo not for personal profit, but rather to protect a piece of Colombian history.
Founded in 1911, the paper has long been associated with Colombia’s elite and was owned by current President Juan Manuel Santos‘ family from 1913 to 2007.
