Fivespan Partners, the activist investment firm launched last year by Dylan Haggart and Sarah Coyne, has disclosed a new stake in The New York Times Company and is urging the publisher to embrace artificial intelligence as a catalyst for growth, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Haggart and Coyne, who previously led ValueAct Capital’s investment in the Times, told investors in a letter that AI could “more than double” the company’s long-term revenue and earnings potential. The technology, they argue, could help the Times broaden its international reach through low-cost translations, deploy more dynamic paywalls and pricing, and expand into scalable video offerings.
Shares in the Times rose as much as 1.2% on Tuesday, valuing the company at about $9.7bn. The stock is up 8.3% over the past year. The Times added 230,000 digital subscribers in the second quarter, bringing total subscriptions to 11.9 million.
Fivespan has engaged privately with the company, though the size of its stake remains undisclosed. The firm compared the Times’ AI-driven growth potential to platforms such as Netflix and Spotify, which command premium valuations on expectations of scalable subscriber growth.
The Times has said it is pursuing AI opportunities with caution, balancing innovation with editorial integrity. Earlier this quarter, the company signed its first deal “with generative AI at the centre” through a partnership with Amazon, according to CEO Meredith Kopit Levien.
