The International New York Times, which will be available in print, on the Web and on mobile platforms, will be edited from Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York and launched later this year, the company said in a statement.

"Today's announcement comes after a thorough evaluation of our place in the global arena ... we believe there is significant potential to grow the number of New York Times subscribers outside of the United States," Chief Executive Mark Thompson said.

Once a sprawling media conglomerate, the New York Times owned magazines, dozens of newspapers, TV and radio stations, sports clubs like the Boston Red Sox, cable channels and internet properties such as About.com.

But it has shed almost all of its assets in recent years. It now owns the New York Times, its flagship newspaper, and the International Herald Tribune.

Last week, it put up The Boston Globe for auction for a second time to focus solely on growing its flagship newspaper.