The popular religious-Zionist, Israeli paper Makor Rishon may change owners next week, according to a report in Makor Rishon.
Shlomo Ben-Tzvi is being forced to sell the paper by the court, after debts rang up from the paper’s unfortunate acquisition of the debt-ridden Israeli paper, Ma’ariv.
Twelve groups inquired about acquiring the paper from the court, six groups put in bids, and two bidders are left competing for the final decision.
One of the two final bidders is none other than Sheldon Adelson, who also owns the free Israeli paper, Yisrael Hayom.
The highest bid so far is Adelson’s Yisrael Hayom with NIS 14 million. The Jerusalem Post offered a close bid of NIS 13.5 million.
Makor Rishon was first founded in 1997, and changed owners a few times. The last owner was Shlomo Ben-Tzvi.
For all appearances, it was the purchase of Ma’ariv that set up the chain of events that resulted in the paper being sold.