LAS VEGAS — The family of billionaire casino mogul and GOP kingmaker Sheldon Adelson confirmed in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that they are the new owners of Nevada’s largest newspaper, ending a week of speculation.
The statement in Thursday’s edition follows the announcement last week that the paper was sold for a second time this year to an unidentified buyer, leading to scrutiny about a lack of transparency.
The Adelsons say they held back because they didn’t want an announcement to distract from Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate held at the Venetian, the casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip that is part of Adelson’s empire.
News + Media Capital Group LLC bought the paper and some affiliated publications for $140 million, a markup of about 37 percent from the paper’s last sale this year, when the similarly named New Media Investment Group bought it. The new buyer was incorporated in September.
