After months of trying to sell the New York Daily News, at one point receiving a comically low bid of $1, Mort Zuckerman has taken the tabloid off the market.
“I have met with several potential interested and well-intentioned suitors during this process,” the Boston Properties chair wrote in a note to Daily News employees. “For a variety of reasons, I have decided to withdraw the Daily News from the market and have instructed our financial advisors to inform the suitors.”
Politico speculates that Zuckerman was not able to fetch his target price of $150 million to $200 million for the paper, which is losing an estimated $20 million to $30 million each year.
According to Politico, developer John Catsimatidis, who heads the Red Apple Group, was the front-runner to buy the paper. Fellow developer Steve Witkoff was also reported to be a bidder. In late March, Cablevision was reported to be preparing a bid of $1 for the paper.
Zuckerman’s decision appears to have caught Catsimatidis by surprise. Just a day earlier, a source close to the developer told Politico he believed he was still “in the mix.” [Politico] — Konrad Putzier