Cablevision Bids $650 Million for Newsday

Cablevision Systems Corp has made a $650 million bid for Tribune Co's Newsday newspaper, topping rival offers from media titans Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer Zuckerman, a source briefed on the matter said Friday.

Murdoch's News Corp and Zuckerman's New York Daily News newspaper have made separate offers of $580 million for Newsday, sources have told Reuters.

Long Island-based Cablevision, owned by the Dolan family, was considering a joint bid with Jared Kushner, owner of the New York Observer newspaper, but decided to go solo just a few days ago, the source said.

The Cablevision offer includes a joint venture that would allow Tribune to keep a small stake in Newsday to avoid capital gains taxes, the source said.

A spokesman for Cablevision declined to comment on the matter. Tribune and News Corp were not immediately reachable for comment.

NEW YORK — The owner of the New York Daily News has offered $580 million to acquire Newsday from Tribune Co.

The bid is equal to an offer made earlier in the week by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. A News Corp. company spokeswoman has declined to comment on the report.

A person familiar with the situation, but who declined to be identified because of the confidential nature of the offer, confirms that real estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman submitted the bid for the Long Island daily late Friday.

Zuckerman's Daily News is the rival tabloid to Murdoch's New York Post.