John Catsimatidis is mystery man behind Daily News sale
Maverick supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis is the mystery suitor trying to buy the embattled Daily News from Mort Zuckerman, The Post has learned.
Catsimatidis, a 66-year-old billionaire, confirmed to The Post that he has been negotiating with Zuckerman for about a month.
The talks have been “complicated” but ongoing, Catsimatidis added. And he said he may not be the only one talking.
“There might be two or three. Dolan’s probably looking,” Catsimatidis said, referring to Cablevision boss James Dolan. Page Six reported Monday that Dolan has bankers preparing a bid.
When news of the talks was about to leak last week, Zuckerman quickly issued a memo to the stunned staff of the teetering tabloid announcing — apparently well after the fact — that an unidentified suitor for the paper had stepped forward and that he had hired Lazard to scout out other potential buyers.
Since the Feb. 26 memo, several other rival bidders have stepped forward to sign nondisclosure agreements.
There is no guarantee the Catsimatidis talks — or the interest from a handful of parties who signed nondisclosure pacts — will result in a sale.
Catsimatidis owns Manhattan’s Gristedes supermarkets and was a Republican mayoral hopeful in 2013. He is also a big advertiser in newspapers.
In addition to Catsimatidis, who also owns real estate firm Red Apple, Zuckerman has been sounding out other billionaires — mostly in the New York City metropolitan area — with net worths north of $5 billion, sources said.
Catsimatidis said he also would not rule out teaming up with another suitor: “We’re business people —we look at things and see what works.”
Zuckerman, 77, apparently buoyed by the $250 million price Jeff Bezos paid for the Washington Post in 2013, is optimistically hoping to fetch $200 million for his money-losing, circulation-challenged daily.
At that price, Zuckerman would recover the $120 million he sank into his printing plant — plus years of losses.
Most industry observers said Zuckerman will be hard-pressed to get such a high price given the News’ declining state of advertising and circulation.
Plus, the News is the third or fourth paper in the city these day, the observers said.
The talks are also complicated because the News has union contracts with mailers, drivers and pressmen. While a new owner would not automatically be bound by the old contract, he would have to come to new understandings.
The privately held paper is said to have revenues of around $175 million a year with annual losses estimated at $20 million to $30 million.
Any new owner must be willing to invest millions to keep the paper afloat.
More than half of the News’ employees actually work in New Jersey. Zuckerman’s profitable commercial printing operation prints about 80 outside publications, including the freebie daily Metro and the weekly Community News Group and The Forward.
Zuckerman and his then-partner Fred Drasner bought the News from the bankrupt estate of “bouncing Czech” Robert Maxwell for about $36 million in 1993.
Most of that price was in assumed liabilities, not cash.
A Daily News spokesman said, “We will not comment on the numbers or names of potential suitors.”