New York Times received bid of over $100 million for Boston Globe: WSJ

The New York Times Co last month received a formal bid that valued its Boston Globe subsidiary at more than $100 million, with about a third of the value from buyers assuming some of the newspapers's pension liabilities, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Times has been in quiet talks for the past year with the potential buyer group, which included former Boston Globe President Rick Daniels and managing director Heberden Ryan of private equity firm Boston Post Partners, the report said on Friday, citing the same sources.

The Times Co has been hoping for a bid from News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, the report said, citing several people close to the Times and Globe. But News Corp's ownership of a Boston television station would preclude its purchase of the Globe, given regulatory rules that prohibit companies from owning a newspaper and a television station in the same market, the report said, citing one person familiar with the situation.

The Times and News Corp declined to comment on the report. Neither Daniels nor Ryan could immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting By Jennifer Saba and Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Eric Walsh)