Jeff Bezos is buying the storied newspaper in a personal capacity
The boss of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has agreed to purchase the Washington Post newspaper for $250m (£163m).
Mr Bezos is buying the paper and its other print properties in a personal capacity.
The Post has been owned by the Graham family for 80 years.
"Years of familiar newspaper-industry challenges made us wonder if there might be another owner who would be better for the Post," said Post CEO Donald Graham.
"Jeff Bezos' proven technology and business genius, his long-term approach and his personal decency make him a uniquely good new owner for the Post."
The paper, known for its coverage of the Watergate scandal, has suffered in recent years as the internet has hurt advertisement sales and it has struggled to adapt its print coverage to the web.
In an open letter posted on the Washington Post's website, Mr Bezos said he would not be leading the paper on a day-to-day basis and sought to reassure nervous employees, but saying he would not seek to change "the values" of the paper
However, he added: "There will, of course, be change at The Post over the coming years...The internet is transforming almost every element of the news business: shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable revenue sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear little or no news-gathering costs."
The sale is expected to be completed in the next 60 days.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23581085#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
