U.S. Bans Some Cellphones in Patent Case

By Stephen Foley

A former public relations guru from Philadelphia has emerged as the latest potential bidder for the Wall Street Journal, amid continuing opposition to a takeover by Rupert Murdoch.

Brian Tierney, who led an investor group that bought the Philadelphia Inquirer last year, said he was examining the possibility of building a consortium to trump the $5bn (£2.53bn) bid for the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones.

Mr Tierney, whose PR and marketing business was one of the most powerful in Philadelphia, surprised many people with his successful $515m bid for the Inquirer when it was put up for sale by the McClatchy newspaper group last year. He assembled a rag-bag of clients and friends from the Philadelphia area to fund the deal, with backing from the Royal Bank of Scotland, and assiduously courted the management and staff of the papers.

The far bigger price tag for the Wall Street Journal would compel him to find additional partners, he admitted, but was undaunting. "We don't believe News Corp is overpaying. This is one of the greatest journalistic enterprises ever created," he said. "If there is a process for the sale of the business, we would be inclined to participate in partnership with others."

The emergence of Mr Tierney as a possible suitor comes in the same week the supermarket magnate Ron Burkle said he was examining his options. The billionaire is one of the most powerful men in southern California and a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and he has been itching to buy a newspaper group for several years. Last year, he lost a bidding war for Knight Ridder - the group which included the Philadelphia Inquirer - and was trumped by the rival billionaire Samuel Zell in this year's auction of Tribune Group, which owns the Los Angeles Times.

The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, the union representing about 2,000 workers at Dow Jones, has hired bankers to solicit bids for the group, amid internal opposition to a News Corp takeover. The journalists fear Mr Murdoch may intervene in editorial policy to protect his other business interests, but the mogul has promised to install an editorial board that would protect the paper's independence.

It was that concession that prompted the controlling Bancroft family to entertain the offer, after previously stating its opposition. A get-to-know-you meeting this week between Mr Murdoch and his son James and senior Bancroft family members was said by both sides to have been constructive. [via]