Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, reported to be on The New York Times Co.'s
shortlist of suitors for its Boston Globe, would be a bargain hunter looking
to get the Hub newspaper on the cheap from his archrival at the Times, who in
turn could use the News Corp. chairman's bid to drive up the price of other
offers, according to media analysts.
"The perception is that Rupert is the leading buyer of newspapers in the
country if not, I suppose, the world. So obviously ... if you are selling a
newspaper, you certainly want him in the action," said Vanity Fair
contributing editor Michael Wolff, author of "The Man Who Owns the News:
Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch."
Such a deal would require some hatchet-burying by Murdoch and Arthur Ochs
Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the The New York Times Co., Wolff said, noting
Murdoch would act as "bottom feeder" looking to call the shots while
Sulzberger could benefit by having Murdoch drum up interest in the Globe.
"Undoubtedly, Arthur wants the biggest bid he can get, but in Arthur's
ideal world, he would get the biggest bid for the newspaper as well as turn
down Rupert's bid," Wolff said.
The Wall Street Journal, which Murdoch's company bought from the Bancroft
family for $5 billion in 2007, cited sources in reporting Friday that the
Times Co. is "hoping to draw a bid" from Murdoch -- even as the Times has been
in talks with another potential buyer who submitted a $100 million bid last
month.
That offer came from former Globe President Rick Daniels -- who also
oversaw GateHouse Media New England -- and private equity firm Boston Post
Partners, the Journal said. The Herald reported earlier last week that Daniels
and Boston Post were likely bidders for the Globe, after they reportedly were
in talks with the Times Co. last year.
Their bid, the Journal wrote, included the assumption of between $25
million and $35 million in Globe pension liabilities.
Representatives of News Corp. and the Times declined to comment.
Another potential suitor for the 141-year-old broadsheet emerged Friday
-- Bay State car czar Ernie Boch Jr., who said he was exploring a bid.
Media observers said Murdoch is the only potential bidder who would have
both the deep pockets and the know-how to efficiently take over the Globe.
"He had a great interest in the Wall Street Journal and he paid a steep
price for it," media analyst and author Harold Vogel said of Murdoch. "I don't
detect he has the same passion for (the Globe). ... He would not stretch on
the price to get it."
Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, said he
believes the Times Co. would not let its "real rivalry" with Murdoch and the Journal stand in the way of a deal.
"I think the Times (executives') interest at this point is really
straightforward: They have a duty as directors of the company to make a good effort to find the best price," he said.
