| Given the state of the industry as well as the fact that Rupert Murdoch already owns a huge slice of the New York City media, this plan sounds completely nutty. Of course, this being about Rupert Murdoch, means that it is probably true.
Murdoch Mulls Buying NY Times, LA Times
Rupert Murdoch's counterintuitive quest to invest in print media helped drive away longtime lieutenant Peter Chernin.
And now that Chernin can't intercede, does Murdoch want to follow News Corp.'s $5 billion buyout of Dow Jones by gobbling up the struggling New York Times Co.?
The answer appears to be yes, as impossible as present economic conditions make it for most deals of any kind to get done.
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With News Corp. shares trading at $6.79 (up 6% Tuesday), the central question of whether Murdoch could actually pull off such a maneuver is thorny. In the case of the New York Times, a combination with News Corp.'s existing properties would send up all kinds of regulatory red flags, especially in a Democratic administration. The acquisition would be Murdoch's second paper in New York after the Post, alongside two TV stations. Murdoch already had to battle for a waiver from the FCC to own the two TV stations.
There's also the fact that the Times and the Wall Street Journal compete nationally, and the prospect of meshing the Times' left-leaning outlook with the conservative approach of the Journal and the Post.
Reports of Murdoch's interest in the Times have circulated for the past year but he has consistently waved them off. In March, he called such buzz "complete nonsense" and said the move would be "illegal."
Apparently, Murdoch does indeed want the Times, but he's got one huge roadblock in his way, one he has never had to deal with as he swallows media entities whole across the globe, the Sulzbergers.
The family is a much tighter-knit group than the sprawling Bancroft clan that owned the Journal. The Sulzbergers have a fierce opposition to Murdoch, and even a theoretical offer well above the Times' current multi-decade-low stock level of less than $4 a share is not likely to make them relent. And with just eight family trustees, including Arthur Sulzberger Jr., there is less chance of fragmenting their vote in Murdoch's favor.
"Make no mistake, they are already at war against Rupert Murdoch," said Michael Wolff, author of the recent Murdoch bio "The Man Who Owns the News." "And he has been very clear in signaling his interest."
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"It'd be awfully tempting if he puts 60 bucks a share on the table like he did the last time" with Dow Jones, said Edward Atorino, a research analyst who covers the Times Co. for Benchmark Capital, a broker-dealer that owns no shares in the company. "But the Times Co. thinks it can tough it out. They don't have the bank pressure that has hit other media companies. That won't kick in for another year or two and they hope, by then, that the economy will have recovered."
I, for one, welcome our trash peddling Aussie overlords... |
