"Makor Rishon" was reestablished after five weeks, in December 1999, under the auspices of a company named “The New Makor Rishon” – a move that enabled its purchaser, Dr. Michael Karash, to derive benefit from the newspaper's name without having to be burdened by past debts. Karash worked to broaden the subscriber base and to make the paper financially viable. Over the course of 2003, the paper was purchased by businessman Shlomo Ben-Tzvi. After the buyout, changes were made that included a significant increase in the number of pages and journalists as well as a move to a broadsheet newspaper format.