Murdoch may join bid battle for Tribune

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has joined the Chandler family in its bid for Tribune Company, according to a report Tuesday.

Murdoch may want to combine functions from Tribune (Charts)-owned New York's Newsday with those of the News Corp's (Charts) New York Post, the Financial Times said citing a person familiar with the situation.

Tribune's other newspapers include the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. The media company, which put itself up for sale in September, also owns television stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, according to the paper.

Murdoch would likely take a minority stake in a consortium owning the Tribune's newspapers, rather than attempting to buy outright control of Newsday, the paper said.

Any deal for Newsday would also depend on the success of a bid from the Chandler family, Tribune's largest shareholder, which offered the company about $7.6 billion last week.

In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Chandlers said they were in discussions with strategic investors about joining the bid, the paper said.

A group led by Los Angeles billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle also made an offer for Tribune, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The Broad and Burkle offer values the company at $8.2 billion, versus the Chandlers' $7.6 billion.

Tribune's board said this week it was "carefully considering all alternatives", including "potential transactions with third parties as well as actions the company may take alone," according to the paper.

News Corp declined to comment, the Financial Times said.

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