• November 30, 2006

Maurice Greenberg, the former boss of American International Group Inc., an insurance mega-company, has expressed interest in buying the New York Times Company, according to a report from CNBC.

The proposed purchase would be the biggest private-equity takeover of a newspaper company ever. The deal would be larger than the purchase of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News by Philadelphia Media Holdings; or the proposed purchase of the Times Co.'s Boston Globe by Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE; or the proposed purchase of the Los Angeles Times by Hollywood mogul David Geffen. According to CNBC correspondent Charlie Gasparino, an unnamed billionaire has also expressed interest in buying the Times Co.