The Washington Post Company has signed a contract to sell its newspaper publishing businesses, including the Washington Post newspaper, to Jeff Bezos.

The purchase price is $250 million, subject to normal working capital adjustments, payable at closing later this year.

Donald E. Graham (Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company): Everyone at the Post Company and everyone in our family has always been proud of The Washington Post — of the newspaper we publish and of the people who write and produce it. I, along with Katharine Weymouth and our board of directors, decided to sell only after years of familiar newspaper-industry challenges made us wonder if there might be another owner who would be better for the Post (after a transaction that would be in the best interest of our shareholders).  

“Our duty to readers will continue to be the heart of the Post, and I am very optimistic about the future,” said Mr. Bezos.  

Katharine Weymouth, CEO and publisher of The Washington Post; Stephen P. Hills, president and general manager; Martin Baron, executive editor; and Fred Hiatt, Editor of the editorial page to continue in those roles.

The transaction covers The Washington Post and other publishing businesses, including the Express newspaper, The Gazette Newspapers, Southern Maryland Newspapers, Fairfax County Times, El Tiempo Latino and Greater Washington Publishing.

Slate magazine, TheRoot.com and Foreign Policy are not part of the transaction and will remain with The Washington Post Company, as will the WaPo Labs and SocialCode businesses, the company’s interest in Classified Ventures and certain real estate assets, including the headquarters building in downtown Washington, DC.

The Washington Post Company, which also owns Kaplan, Post–Newsweek Stations and Cable ONE, will be changing its name in connection with the transaction; no new name has yet been announced.

Allen & Co. assisted the Post Company in the sale process.

You can watch a video of Mr. Graham discuss the transaction here.