Members of the Gores family apparently see future value in media properties. Alec Gores’ private equity firm, The Gores Group, already owns Westwood One. Now his brother is said to be bidding for the Boston Globe.
Tom Gores, who became a billionaire through tech company LBOs, has lately gotten the media bug – in particular the newspaper bug. A few months back his Platinum Equity bought the San Diego Union-Tribune from the Copley family. The price was not disclosed, but was said to have been a very low price in an auction that may have attracted only a single bidder.
Now the Boston Globe is in his cross-hairs. A report in the Globe says Platinum Equity has bid about $35 million for the Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, in addition to taking on about $59 million in pension liabilities from the papers. At least two other groups are known to be serious bidders to buy the Globe and related assets from the New York Times Company.
