New York Times Shares Drop as Greenberg Denies Buyout

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Ex-A.I.G. Chief Denies Report He Is Accumulating Times Stock [New York Times]

Summary: Maurice "Hank" Greenberg denied he is attempting to take over the New York Times after rumors sent the stock upward to its highest one-day surge in nearly six years. The former CEO of American International Group Inc. owns only 100,000 shares of over 143 million shares outstanding in the newspaper which is run by the Sulzberger family through special stock which gives them the majority vote. Shares rose $1.73, or 7.5 percent, to $24.76 on the rumors, but fell to $23.74 in after-hours trading after Greenberg issued his statement. A source close to Mr. Greenberg says that he is considering making a bid on Tribune.
Related links: Media coverage: Bloomberg . Commentary: NY Times Shares Jump on Rumors of Major Hank Greenberg Purchase • Citi: New York Times Headed Downhill Due To Internet • NYT: Investor Interest Should Propel Management to Boost Margins • Sharpest Newspaper Circulation Drop in 15 Years. Conference call transcripts: New York Times Q32006 .
Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: New York Times (NYT), Tribune Company (TRB) • Competitors: Dow Jones (DJ), Gannett Co. Inc (GCI), The Washington Post Co. (WPO), The McClatchy Company (MNI), News Corp. (NWS)

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