Norcross Scores Majority Stake in Philly Media, Report Says

Camden County Democratic Party power broker George Norcross has scored a majority stake in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, buying out a partner in Philadelphia Media Network, the company that controls all three media properties, according to a report from Philadelphia Magazine.

Norcross, a Cherry Hill resident and head of insurance firm Conner Strong and Buckelew, previously owned a little more than a quarter of the company, but a buyout will give him a roughly 53-percent stake—but whether it'll be enough to stop a months-long fight over control over the company, which he shares with Lewis Katz, is yet to be seen.

Katz and Norcross are bound by a contract that gives them blocking rights, but have battled over editor Bill Marimow, who was fired in October and later reinstated by a judge.

Several lawsuits have been filed in the weeks since, with Norcross' buyout the latest in that saga.

Now, along with a handful of minority owners allied with him, Norcross controls roughly 58 percent of the shares in the company, Philadelphia Magazine reported.