The Washington Post is to sell Newsweek magazine to Sidney Harman, the 91-year-old founder of audio equipment firm Harman International Industries.
The sale brings to an end nearly 50 years of ownership by the Washington newspaper.
Newsweek, which was put up for sale in May this year, has been losing money, with losses of nearly $15 million during the first quarter of this year.
The weekly magazine, launched in 1933, has about 300 employees.
The size of the deal has not been not revealed but other bidders in the auction sale, the BBC reports, included OpenGate Capital, owner of the American publication TV Guide, and the former publisher of the New York Daily News, Fred Drasner.
The chief executive of The Washington Post, Donald Graham, said: "In seeking a buyer for Newsweek, we wanted someone who feels as strongly as we do about the importance of quality journalism."
