http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/business/media/11murdoch.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
May 11, 2008
News Corp. Withdraws Its Bid for Newsday
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
Cablevision on Saturday appeared likely to prevail in the bidding for Newsday, people briefed on the matter said, after the News Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, pulled out of the running.
People involved in the negotiations, who would not be named because the talks were confidential, said early this month that Newsday’s owner, the Tribune Company, seemed headed toward accepting Cablevision’s bid, which at $650 million was the highest. Mr. Murdoch, however, told investors and analysts in a conference call Wednesday that he remained confident, counseling, “just be patient for a couple of days.”
Despite that statement, the News Corporation told Tribune on Saturday morning that it was withdrawing its $580 million bid, said Gary Ginsberg, a News Corporation executive vice president.
It was not clear whether the other remaining bidder, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, owner of The Daily News, might still try to raise his offer, also $580 million. A spokesman for Mr. Zuckerman declined to comment.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/ny-nynews0511,0,6174868.story
Murdoch drops bid to purchase Newsday
BY JAMES T. MADORE AND ELLEN YAN
james.madore@newsday.com, ellen.yan@newsday.com
2:12 PM EDT, May 10, 2008
Rupert Murdoch has dropped his bid to purchase Newsday, his spokeswoman said Saturday.
Murdoch’s withdrawal means Newsday’s next owner is likely to be Cablevision Systems Corp., barring the last-minute entry of a new suitor or a higher offer from Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman.
“It became uneconomical for us to continue,” Teri Everett of Murdoch’s News Corp. said.
A source close to talks between News Corp. and Newsday’s parent, Tribune Co., confirmed that they had parted ways.
Both Murdoch and Zuckerman bid $580 million for Newsday and its subsidiaries, including the commuter paper amNewYork. But Bethpage-based Cablevision countered with a bid that was $70 million higher.
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