• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 12, 2009

Defying dire revenue reports and the credit crunch, The Boston Globe has attracted a potential bidder in Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. just days after the New York Times Co. confirmed that the beleaguered newspaper is up for sale, according to the Boston Herald Web site.

 

A significant portion of Intercontinental's funding comes from union pension funds, and it seems the possible acquisition is, in part, an expression of support for the embattled union in its showdown with NYTCO management.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the biggest union at The Boston Globe, the Newspaper Guild, said it would like to negotiate a stake in the company with whomever the new owner is -- hinting at some coordination between the newspaper union and the potential buyer.

Also interested are three Boston-area businessmen -- Stephen Pagliuca, the owner of the Celtics, Jack Connors, a former advertising executive, and Stephen Taylor, a representative of the Taylor family, which owned the Boston newspaper from 1873-1993.

According to an anonymous source cited by the Globe, the three men are reviewing the Globe's finances and trying to recruit investors for a possible purchase of the newspaper. Similar ideas have been proposed in the past; for example, former G.E. executive Jack Welch was once proposed as a potential buyer.

Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. manages a total of about $2.5 billion in investment funds, according to the Herald, which quoted a top executive as saying the company "is interested in any good investment that offers superior returns for our investors, as well as opportunities for job preservation, and even job growth, for our union investors." He added that "The Globe fits our profile."

One proposal has union members making concessions in terms of pay and benefits in exchange for a stake in the company.

At the same time, the Guild's leaders are protesting management's unilateral 23% pay cut, imposed Monday evening after negotiations failed, with union members narrowly voting to reject NYTCO management's proposal, 277-265.

Earlier this week, leading members of the Newspaper Guild wrote a letter to Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the chairman and CEO of The New York Times Co., asking him to participate personally in negotiations.