sentences:  Late in that year, the "Chicago Tribune" estimated that the country's top three comic strip syndicates were Hearst's King Features, Scripps' United Media, and News Corp's NAS.In late December of that same year, Hearst bought NAS (which the company renamed North America Syndicate).The pending sale of NAS (which was first reported in October 1986), prompted NAS president Richard S. Newcombe to leave the company in January 1987 and, using financial backing from London-based publisher Robert Maxwell, form Creators Syndicate before the close of the NAS sale.