NEW YORK - Knight Ridder Inc., publisher of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and other newspapers, has hired Morgan Stanley to help advise it as it explores strategic alternatives, including its possible sale.
Morgan Stanley will provide a second opinion to Goldman Sachs, financial adviser to Knight Ridder since its creation in 1974.
Knight Ridder spokesman Polk Laffoon said Morgan Stanley had been hired just over a week ago.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company, which also publishes the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Miami Herald and 30 other newspapers announced Nov. 14 that it would consider selling itself, bowing to pressure from shareholders unhappy with its stock price.
Knight Ridder's shares have surged since Nov. 1, when its largest shareholder, Florida money management firm Private Capital Management, urged the company to sell itself. PCM owns a 19 percent stake in the publisher.
Knight Ridder has warned that a transaction might not take place. In addition to a sale, its alternatives could include a restructuring.
Knight Ridder stock fell 46 cents, or 0.8 percent to $60.50.
Although still well above the $53 it traded before investors urged Knight Ridder to put itself on the block, the stock has retreated from its mid-November high of about $65 amid concern that the company might not fetch such robust bids.
The industry is struggling as competition from the Internet and elsewhere lures away readers and advertisers. The challenges have slowed newspaper revenue growth.
