National Enquirer publisher buys OK! magazine

American Media Inc. (AMI), publisher of the National Enquirer, Star and other titles, announced Thursday it has bought the US edition of entertainment magazine OK! from Britain's Northern & Shell. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. OK! magazine, which has a weekly circulation of 800,000 and a readership of 6.6 million, was launched in the United States in 2005 but has reportedly been losing money. AMI chief executive David Pecker said the purchase of OK! was a "very important strategic acquisition" for his company, which also puts out a number of health and fitness magazines. "It also allows us to offer our advertisers a wider range of celebrity coverage than any single publication or group of titles from any publisher," Pecker said. AMI said OK! and Star would have a combined print circulation of 1.6 million. The magazine's website, OKMagazine.com, has been averaging 2.9 million unique visitors a month, according to AMI, and combined with AMI-owned RadarOnline.com and StarMagazine.com, the three sites will reach nearly 10 million unique visitors a month.