Publishing: “National Geographic Magazine Shifts to For-Profit Status with Fox Partnership”

From The Washington Post:

The National Geographic magazine, a nonprofit publication since its founding in 1888, will shift to for-profit status under a new partnership with 21st Century Fox, the entertainment company controlled by the family of Rupert Murdoch, the two partners said this morning.
The partnership, which will also include the National Geographic cable channel and the National Geographic Society’s other media assets, will be called National Geographic Partners. Fox will own 73 percent of the partnership, and Washington-based National Geographic Society will own the balance. Fox will pay $725 million to the Society for its stake in the partnership. This will push the Society’s endowment to more than $1 billion.”

Read the Complete Article
From the Partnership Announcement
The National Geographic Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on its mission of science, exploration and education. Consideration for the transaction is valued at $725 million. As a result, the Society’s endowment will significantly increase to nearly $1 billion. The new entity will be owned 73 percent by 21st Century Fox and 27 percent by The National Geographic Society with a shared governance structure and equal representation on the board of directors. The Board Chair will alternate annually, with Gary Knell, National Geographic Society President and CEO, serving as the Board’s first Chairman.
The new expanded joint venture will operate as National Geographic Partners and will combine the National Geographic television channels with National Geographic’s other media and consumer-oriented assets, including: National Geographic magazines; National Geographic Studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities, including travel, location-based entertainment, archival sales, catalog, licensing and ecommerce businesses. Combining these assets into one organization will create greater opportunities to pursue National Geographic’s mission of increasing knowledge through science, exploration and research.
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Direct to Fact Sheet About Today’s Announcement (3 pages; PDF) and Graphic

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