Even a $1 Bid Too Expensive to Buy The Daily News

NEW YORK (Reuters) —

It was one dollar too much for Cablevision. The cable company is planning to pull out of the auction process for the Daily News after spending hundreds of hours analyzing a potential deal, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Cablevision, which owns the Long Island-based Newsday, had bid just $1 for the tabloid newspaper in March. It is now planning to bow out ahead of a second-round bid deadline this week.

Cablevision said they could not justify paying even $1 because of the Daily News’ poor financial condition and prospects.

In February, New York media and real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman said he was considering selling the newspaper and had hired Lazard Ltd to assist with the process.

Other bidders still around the process include Jimmy Finkelstein, owner of “The Hill,” John Catsimatidis and an unnamed real estate mogul.

The Daily News is currently losing $30 million a year. Its declining circulation relies heavily on newsstand sales rather than on subscriptions.

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