Murdoch Will Sell Star to Enquirer for $400 Million

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. said Thursday that it has agreed to sell Star magazine for $400 million in cash and stock to the publisher of its saucy rival, the National Enquirer.

The would-be buyer, GP Group Inc., said it plans to “maintain the Star’s editorial independence” and will continue to publish it from the magazine’s current location in Tarrytown.

The agreement comes nearly a year after GP Group itself was acquired by a partnership led by the romance magazine publisher Macfadden Holdings Inc. for $412.5 million.

The sale would solidify GP Group’s franchise in the supermarket checkout aisles, as it also publishes a third sensationalist tabloid, Weekly World News.

The sale of the Star came as a surprise to its staffers.

“We’re in shock,” said Barry Levine, the Star’s Hollywood bureau chief. “Up until this moment, we and the Enquirer have been bitter enemies.”

In Lantana, Fla., Iain Calder, editor and president of the Enquirer, said the two publications will maintain separate editorial staffs.

“They will still compete with each other,” he said.

The Star has an average weekly circulation of 3.6 million, according to News Corp. executives. The National Enquirer’s average weekly circulation is 4.1 million and Weekly World News is at 950,000, according to GP Group.