The New York Times Co. agreed to buy the Athletic, acquiring a sports-news website with more than 1 million subscribers.

The newspaper publisher is paying $550 million for the Athletic, which will remain a standalone product, Times Chief Executive Officer Meredith Kopit Levien said Thursday in a statement. The deal is expected to close by the end of March.

"Strategically, we believe this acquisition will accelerate our ability to scale and deepen subscriber relationships,” she said.