View the full NYT chart at Wikinvest Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecommunications mogul with a reputation for finding undervalued companies and turning them around for huge profits, has taken a 6.4 percent stake in the New York Times Company.
Slim, who is worth about $60 billion, was the largest shareholder in MCI before Verizon acquired the company. He bought 3 percent of Apple’s computer stock in 1997 right before Steve Jobs introduced the iMac. His 9.1 million NYT shares are worth about $127 million, priced at Wednesday’s $13.96 close.
So he’s proved he has the magic touch in telecom and software, but what does this guy think he is doing with The New York Times?
Slim, who tells Reuters his interest in the media company is "financial," may be hoping that a third party would acquire The New York Times, Hal Vogel, a New York media analyst told Bloomberg.
The paper is facing the same ad slump along with everyone else. But despite recent moves to cut back on costs like merging sections and eliminating its distribution arm, it claims its print paper is not going anywhere. And their online ad sales are going up, but slow and steady.
In a 2000 interview with BusinessWeek Slim explained some of his reasons for his turn towards U.S investments.
"The key is the internet," he said. "The U.S. is by far the most advanced country in this new digital culture, so we have to be there. The Internet is the heart of this new civilization, and telecommunications are the nervous system, or circulatory system."
Mexican Billionaire Buys a 6.4% Stake in Times Company [The New York Times]
