Knight Ridder gets takeover bids of up to $4.8 billion

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Washington (dpa) - Knight Ridder Inc., the second largest US newspaper chain, has received two takeover bids of up to 4.8 billion dollars for its collection of newspapers and online news sites, media reports said Friday.

McClatchy Co., whose 12 US dailies include The Star Tribune in Minneapolis and The Sacramento Bee in California, reportedly made a bid of 4.8 billion dollars - more than 65 cents a share for Knight Ridder.

A consortium of private equity groups including Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital and Oak Hill Partners, made a non-binding offer of 4.7 billion dollars, reports said.

Knight Ridder, which owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Miami Herald, said in November it would auction off its assets, after pressure from company shareholders. Thursday was the deadline for bids.

The company's board is expected to meet this weekend and could make a decision as early as Monday, according to reports. Knight Ridder shares were up 2 per cent to 63.91 dollars in early trading on Friday.

A third group, consisting of Media News and Gannett - the largest US newspaper chain - is also reportedly interested, though it is unclear whether they made a formal offer by the Thursday deadline.