Investor joins bid to buy newspapers

Another of the original investors in The Inquirer's parent company has agreed to join a local group seeking to buy the media firm at a bankruptcy auction Tuesday.

William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker, said he agreed to be part of the group Thursday at the request of Brian P. Tierney, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., which owns The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com.

Graham was asked to join the effort after Bruce Toll, vice chairman of home builder Toll Bros. Inc., pulled back Tuesday from a commitment to provide a significant portion of a $52 million bid the local group had made for the bankrupt company, according to a source involved in the matter.

The source said Toll remained an investor, but at an undetermined level.

Toll did not return a call for comment Thursday. Tierney declined to comment.

Toll's decision to scale down his participation left Tierney scrambling to find additional investors to keep the local group's offer afloat.

The offer, known as the "stalking horse" bid, was withdrawn Tuesday so it could be revised in time for Friday's deadline to bid in the auction.

It had been made by an entity called Philly Papers L.L.C., which consisted of Toll, the Carpenters Union pension fund, and the philanthropist David Haas.

Graham, like Toll, was one of the investors who bought The Inquirer in 2006. Graham, in an interview, said his investment then was $31 million. All of that has been lost.

He declined to say how much more he would now invest. It would, however, be much less than $31 million, he said.

"I'm a very small player right now," he said, adding that he had been told there would be other new investors as well.

Graham said he anticipated that the group would resubmit a bid identical in value to the one withdrawn.

"I was one of the original investors, and I am still glad I did that," Graham said. "I'm doing it again because I think we have to have two quality newspapers like The Inquirer and the Daily News. That is the most important thing for me."