Bloomberg encouraged to buy NYT - Rumour

Mon Apr 21 2008, 16:26 PM

"Top associates" of New York mayor Michael Bloomberg are encouraging him to buy The New York Times (NYT), says a report in Newsweek. The proponents reportedly argue that Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of the Bloomberg financial news agency, believe the businessman is best placed to help the NYT fight rising competition from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Responding to the report, however, Bloomberg said, quoted by Reuters: "I am not going to go into the newspaper business. I am not a newspaper person."

Deal Details

The WSJ is set to increasingly challenge the NYT following its acquisition by News Corp. News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch has repeatedly expressed his intention to take on the NYT by making the WSJ more mainstream and more international. Questioned by Newsweek, Murdoch says he "wouldn't look forward to going up against [Bloomberg]", citing his "great respect for Bloomberg's business abilities".

Meanwhile, Bloomberg is also facing rising competition from Thomson Financial and Reuters, which merged this week in a GBP7.8bn (USD15.6bn) deal to create the world's biggest financial information provider, now renamed Thomson Reuters.