NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWSa.N: Quote) has joined the Chandler family in its bid for newspaper and television station owner Tribune Co. (TRB.N: Quote), a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The source said News Corp.'s participation is considered small and Murdoch's goal is primarily to cut printing and back-office costs at his media conglomerate's money-losing New York Post newspaper.
"If their bid is successful (they) would do some deal and have some sort of operating agreement with the Post and Newsday ... that would be financially advantageous through cutting costs," the source said.
News Corp. is not interested in buying Tribune's Newsday outright as U.S. media ownership laws could prevent the company from owning another newspaper in the New York region, the source said.
The source said News Corp.'s interest in joining Chandler's bid, which was disclosed on January 18, occurred shortly before it was submitted. In early December, News Corp. Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin said the company had no interest in bidding for Tribune assets.
The Chandler family, who are Tribune's biggest shareholder, News Corp. and Tribune all declined to comment.
Tribune, which owns the Los Angeles Times newspaper and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, has received at least three bids and is in the process of reviewing the offers.
The company, much like the rest of the newspaper industry, faces lackluster print advertising sales and a circulation slump as marketers shift budgets to new media outlets like the Internet. Younger consumers now split their time consuming news and entertainment from PCs, wireless devices and video games.
The Chandlers want to take Tribune's newspaper assets private and spin off its broadcasting business, which has better growth prospects. Their offer of $31.70 a share valued the company at $7.6 billion.
A group led by Los Angeles billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle have made what amounts to a leveraged recapitalization proposal for Tribune, according to a source familiar with the matter. Private equity firm Carlyle Group has also submitted a bid for the TV station assets, said another source.
But the bids for a company, whose market capitalization as of Tuesday's market close was about $7.2 billion, represented only a small premium for the company.
Wall Street analysts say it was unlikely the current round of bids would easily win over Tribune, which said on Saturday it was also considering alternative actions on its own.
The news of Murdoch's entrance was first reported by the Financial Times Web site.
News Corp.'s class A shares closed Tuesday up 43 cents, or nearly 2 percent, at $23.21, while Tribune fell 16 cents to $30.10, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Additional reporting by Megan Davies in New York and Jessica Hall in Philadelphia)
