21 April 2008

Bloombergs Boys Encourage NYT Bid

People close to Bloomberg (Freinds of Bloomberg or FOB) are encouraging the diminutive billionaire to buy The Times and save the company from shareholder assaults.

Bloomberg could take the company private and "help protect the brand" with his estimated $11.6 billion personal fortoon.



The Ochs-Sulzberger family has controlled The Times since 1896, a structure it has preserved with a second tier of voting shares, but many holders of its publicly traded shares have accused the company's executives of not managing it properly and have sought more power over its future strategy.

The Ochs-Sulzbergers believe the company's current capital structure is the best way to protect its editorial independence. Unnamed sources galore say some members of the Ochs-Sulzberger family want to find a protector to "keep it hood" as they say.

Shares of the New York Times, publisher of the newspaper of the same name and the Boston Globe, rose as much as 3% on the news.

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