Lee Enterprises announced a compromise Tuesday with billionaire investor David Hoffmann, who offered to take over the nation’s third-largest newspaper chain this year, to help stabilize the company’s finances with a $50 million investment and set Lee up for the future.

Hoffmann, whose family investment firm already owns more than 40 other publications, will become Lee’s chairman as he continues to pursue his goal of becoming the country’s largest newspaper publisher. He has said in recent interviews that he believes newspapers can continue to play an important role in covering local communities and build a successful digital subscription business.

Lee said that when Hoffmann takes over, CEO Kevin Mowbray will retire after 39 years with the Davenport, Iowa-based company, which owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Buffalo News, Omaha World-Herald and dozens of other publications in 25 states.

“With improved financial stability and a clear governance framework in place, the focus can now be on disciplined execution and long-term value creation,” said Hoffmann, who declined to comment beyond the statement on the deal.

He built his initial fortune through the DHR Global executive search firm he founded and went on to set up his investment fund. It now includes more than 125 brands and 22,000 employees and is set to become the controlling owner in the Pittsburgh Penguins next year.

In recent years Lee — like many news companies — has cut staff and sold off some of the real estate its newspapers own as advertising and website traffic declined. Many Lee publications also stopped printing on Mondays.