Court approves $1.15 million sale of Maariv to Jerusalem Post

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jerusalem court approved the sale of the daily Hebrew newspaper Maariv to The Jerusalem Post.

The $1.15 million sale to Jerusalem Post owner Eli Azur was approved Sunday by the Jerusalem District Court. The Jerusalem Post publishes a daily English-language newspaper.

Israel’s Antitrust Authority still must approve the sale, Globes reported. Azur also bought Maariv’s subscriber base, archives and brand, according to the Israeli business daily.

Azur said through his attorney that he plans to resume publishing a daily print edition of Maariv, which in March stopped putting out a print edition while continuing to update its website. Maariv has suffered a decline in readership and advertising revenue in recent years.

Late last month, the court approved the sale of the right-wing newspaper Makor Rishon and the NRG news website to billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Israel Hayom company. Both properties were owned by Maariv publisher Shlomo Ben Tzvi. NRG was Maariv’s news portal.

Poor sales of Maariv had led Ben Tzvi to sell Makor Rishon and NRG, with the combined company owing about $1 million to creditors and employees.

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