IBT Media Transfers Ownership to Newly Established Delaware Perpetual Purpose Trust

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2026 — IBT Media Inc., parent company of the International Business Times, announced today that ownership of the company has been transferred to a newly established Delaware perpetual purpose trust with no beneficiaries, formalizing a structure in which the company's ownership is separate from any individual person.

Under an agreement executed August 7, 2026, Etienne Uzac, who has led IBT Media as CEO, irrevocably transferred all outstanding shares of the company to the trust as a gift. The transfer makes the trust the sole owner of IBT Media's capital stock.

A perpetual purpose trust holds assets in furtherance of a defined purpose rather than for the benefit of individual beneficiaries. For IBT Media, the structure reflects the company's founding ethos and is intended to prevent the kind of unauthorized privatization of company assets like that of former CEO Dev Pragad.

"IBT Media was never just personal property; it existed in service of a shared editorial mission, meant to outlast any one person's decisions and serve the public good," the company said in a statement.

The trust is overseen by an independent institutional trustee. The company said the transfer changes its ownership structure only. Uzac remains CEO, and IBT Media's editorial and business operations are unaffected.

A Return to IBT Media's Founding Purpose

The ownership transfer follows a period of rebuilding for IBT Media and comes after years of disputes over the company's assets and the Newsweek brand.

After a period of growth through 2016, IBT Media installed Pragad as CEO. During his tenure, assets associated with IBT Media were transferred to its subsidiary, Newsweek LLC. In 2018, Pragad represented to IBT's founding members that he was acquiring ownership of Newsweek. Relying on those representations, and unaware of what IBT later alleged were fraudulent schemes, the founding team agreed to sign a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement prepared by Pragad.

Dev Pragad subsequently took control of Newsweek, including assets, personnel and executives that had previously been part of IBT Media. In early 2022, after Pragad announced that he intended to retain the company for himself contrary to the understanding under which the transaction had been undertaken, IBT Media began a series of legal actions and continued discussions seeking the return of Newsweek to IBT Media.

Pragad and his holding company, NW Media Holdings Corp., never paid the purchase price contemplated by the 2018 agreement. After repeated warnings and demands went unanswered, IBT Media issued a final notice of default in April 2026, formally notifying NW Media Holdings Corp. that the agreement purporting to transfer the Newsweek brand from IBT Media had never been consummated and was irrevocably null due to unpaid consideration and non-performance under its terms.

IBT Media also relocated to a new Midtown Manhattan headquarters earlier this year as part of its rebuilding efforts.

Ownership for the Public Good

The transfer to the IBT Trust, the company said, formalizes the original intention behind IBT Media's founding: that the company not be treated as the personal property of any one individual, but instead exist in service of a broader public and editorial purpose.

With the trust structure now in place, IBT Media's founding members have made clear that they intend to continue pursuing the company's property and legal claims arising from the Newsweek transaction, including efforts to establish that the 2018 transfer was null and to return the property at issue to IBT Media.

The company said the new ownership structure is intended to ensure that IBT Media's mission and assets remain protected for the long term and are not subject to the unilateral control of any individual.