New York Magazine Reports that Michael Bloomberg May be interested in Buying New York Times

New York magazine contributor Gabriel Sherman on Friday wrote that Michal Bloomberg reportedly tried to buy the New York Times NYT near the end of his term as mayor. However the New York Times Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has said that the paper is not for sale.

Sherman suggests that Bloomberg has become more interested in buying the Times since returning to Bloomberg LP as, “He has been seeking to dramatically expand the financial data and news service's reach.” Furthermore many of Bloomberg’s news writers were previously employed by the New York Times.

Buying the paper will be a challenge for Bloomberg as the Sulzberger family controls the company through a special class of stock and there are currently four members of the family on the board. However the newspaper has put itself into financial distress and may need Bloomberg to save it. Sherman writes, “In October, the company reported a loss of $9 million compared to a profit of $12.9 million in the third quarter of 2013. The loss was driven, in part, by the cost of buyouts and layoffs, as well as investment in new products.” The New York Time’s digital offerings have been a disappointment as well, as a rise in digital advertising revenue has been met by a drop in print advertising revenue.

In the end Sherman suggests that while the Sulzberger family may not want to sell, due to financial troubles they may have no choice and Bloomberg can be, “their white knight,” and revive the iconic newspaper. Bloomberg has proven himself as one of the most successful media developers on Earth and he may have the chance to do it again.