Michael Bloomberg May Buy Financial Times
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is weighing up whether to make a bid for The Financial Times Group, which includes the namesake paper and a half interest in The Economist magazine, the New York Times reported, citing three people close to the mayor.
Pearson Plc, the publisher of FT, is about to lose two of its top executives, raising speculation the paper could be up for sale.
Analysts value The Financial Times Group at about $1.2 billion, well within the reach of Bloomberg LP, which in 2011 had revenue of $7.6 billion, the paper said. ()
One media banker with knowledge of the company expects the paper to be sold around early next year, the New York Times said.
Factions within Bloomberg LP have argued that it would be smarter to buy a digital property, pointing to the website LinkedIn as an example.
Daniel Doctoroff, a confidant of Bloomberg and the chief executive of the company, is said to be particularly skeptical about the value of buying a newspaper, the paper said.
A spokesman for the mayor declined to comment to the New York Times on his conversations about the Financial Times paper.
A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg and Pearson Group could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
