Alaska Dispatch Publishing, owner of digital news magazine Alaska Dispatch, has agreed to buy the Anchorage Daily News from The McClatchy Company for $34 million.

The deal will unite the most well-read Alaskan website with its largest newspaper. McClatchy, a media conglomerate that owns 30 newspapers, has held an ownership stake in the paper since 1979.

Pat Talamantes, McClatchy's president and CEO, said bringing the newspaper under local ownership would be advantageous.

"The Anchorage Daily News is a profitable newspaper that makes us proud journalistically," Talamantes said in an Anchorage Daily News report. "We weren't looking to sell the Daily News, but after Alaska Dispatch Publishing approached us, we saw advantages to local ownership in this case, and opportunities for consolidation that would strengthen both news organizations."

There are few similar examples of digitally native sites that have ventured into print. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million, and AOL purchased Time Warner for $164 billion, although the latter two companies later split.

Alive Rogoff, former CFO of U.S. News and World Report, is publisher and chief executive of Alaska Dispatch Publishing, which operates the digital-news outlet. She also touted the advantages of bringing the paper under local ownership.

"We are proud to return the Anchorage Daily News to Alaska ownership once again," Rogoff said. "Across the country over the past few years, we've seen several daily newspapers successfully transition to local ownership. We look forward to working with the talented team at the Daily News to help build its future."

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