Tabloids Unite: Enquirer Owner Buys OK! Magazine

The owner of Star and National Enquirer acquires the struggling tabloid

American Media president David Pecker just added another property to his company's celebrity journalism-studded roster. As reported by Forbes Jeff Bercovici and confirmed by Sky News (and the press release here), OK! magazine has officially been sold to the owners of National Enquirer and Star for an unnamed sum. The struggling Richard Desmond tabloid had previously fielded and rebuffed an offer from Time Warner for $25 million and, according to Bercovici, was losing about $500,000 a week. Pecker seemed pleased about the acquisition, noting in the release that OK!'s 800,000+ print circulation "allows us to offer our advertisers a wider range of celebrity coverage than any single publication or group of titles from any publisher." Look out, grocery store aisles.