New York Times Sticks With Beantown

Updated from 9:30 a.m. EST

In rejecting a deep-pocketed suitor that had an eye on her ugliest asset, the Gray Lady may be ratcheting up her ongoing feud with Wall Street.

Shares of New York Times (NYT Quote) were trading down Wednesday following news that the media conglomerate rebuffed an overture for The Boston Globe from a group of local investors headed by the former General Electric (GE Quote) CEO Jack Welch.

According to the Globe, New York Times Chief Executive Janet Robinson said in a Nov. 17 letter that the Boston paper remains an important asset for the company and it's not interested in pursuing the sale. The story cited unnamed sources.

A New York Times representative couldn't be reached for comment on the report.

Welch and his crew, which also includes advertising executive Jack Connors and Boston concessionaire Joe O'Donnell, were reportedly offering $550 million to $600 million for their hometown paper -- roughly half of the $1.1 billion that the New York Times paid for it in 1993. Apparently, the Times doesn't have the appetite to swallow such a loss.

Wall Street, as usual, will take what it can get when it can get it. Shares of the Times are still up about 6.8% since the Welch team floated its interest in buying the Globe in late October. Investors see a quick payoff in dumping the newspaper that is weighing heavily on the company's overall results.

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