Perelmans join investors bidding for newspapers

Businessman and philanthropist Ray Perelman and his investor son, Ronald O. Perelman, joined the group of local investors bidding to purchase Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C. and take it out of bankruptcy. The announcement was made Monday afternoon in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in Philadelphia

The Perelmans join the Carpenters Union Pension Fund, philanthropist David Haas, home builder Bruce Toll and William Graham, a Philadelphia insurance company owner, in the bid to buy the media company, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com.

The participation of the Perelmans in the bankruptcy auction scheduled for Tuesday in New York City was just one of the major developments in the case Monday.

California businessman Ron Burkle and his investment firm, Yucaipa Companies, had been allied with the local investors; but Yucaipa has withdrawn from the bidding.

The Alden Group, an investment firm based in New York, has joined the group of senior lenders bidding for the company. That group, which consists of the holders of the majority of the company's debt, includes Angelo, Gordon & Co. and the CIT Group, among others.

The third bidder is the Stern Group, owner of newspapers in Canada and other ventures.

The creditors' bid, a company official testified in court, would require the termination of all 4,500 jobs at Philadelphia Newspapers. Those employees would then be required to reapply for their jobs – with a guarantee that at least 50 percent would be able to join a newly formed company that would own the two newspapers and their Web site.    - Inquirer staff