Tucker Carlson leaves the Daily Caller, selling his stake in the company

Prime time Fox News television host Tucker Carlson says that he is parting ways with the Daily Caller, the conservative media outlet that he helped found.

"I’m just too absorbed in what I’m doing,” Carlson told the The Wall Street Journal.

“I wasn’t helping in any way, because I’ve got an hour to do every night” he continued, referring to his signature, weeknight Fox News program.

Daily Caller co-founder Neil Patel purchased Carlson's roughly one-third stake in the business that the two founded with financial backing from Foster Friess in 2010. Patel now owns controlling interest in the company, while Friess and some other smaller investors own the remainder of the digital news site. 

The Journal reported that the deal makes the Daily Caller "the largest digital-media company owned by a person of color, according to Mr. Patel, who was born in India."

Carlson, who was the Daily Caller's editor in chief until 2016, had previously worked as a television pundit prior to co-hosting, then hosting Fox News shows.

“My focus going forward is breaking news that’s solid, that’s accurate,” Patel said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have any perspective, but it does mean that it will not be partisan in any way.”