New York Times Co is talking with a variety of potential buyers for its stake in the Boston Red Sox and expects to turn a profit on the baseball team's sale, the media company's chief executive said on Tuesday.
The company, which publishes its flagship newspaper and the Boston Globe, sold in April a small piece of its stake in New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the parent company of the Red Sox. At the time, it said it would explore the sale of its remaining 16.6 percent in whole or in parts.
"It continues to be for sale," New York Times CEO Janet Robinson said at the Reuters Global Media Summit on Tuesday. "We are continuing to talk to a variety of prospective buyers, large and small."
The Times paid an estimated $75 million for a 17.75 percent stake in 2002, before the Sox won two World Series titles, and analysts and bankers have previously said the company was seeking as much as $100 million for its entire stake. It was the second largest stake in NESV, behind owner and hedge fund manager John Henry.