Cablevision Closes In On Deal for Newsday

Tribune Company is at the brink of a deal to sell its Long Island newspaper Newsday to Cablevision Systems Corp. for $650 million in a deal to that will help relieve Tribune's debt. If successful, the bid from the Long Island-based cable operator will have bested matching $580 million offers from News Corp., which owns the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman. News Corp. had had an informal agreement for Newsday, but was unwilling to match Cablevision's offer and revoked its bid on Saturday. Clinching the deal would put the Long Island cable operator in control of Newsday and related assets, including the free New York City newspaper amNew York. The deal, which is expected to be structured as a joint venture for tax reasons, would leave Tribune with a small stake in Newsday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121053212558883383.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)