NUMEROUS POSSIBLE BUYERS SHOW INTEREST IN U.P.I.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000201120002-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 23, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: September 17, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000201120002-3
NEW YORK TIMES
17 September 1985
Numerous Possible Buyers Show Interest in . .
By ALEX S. JONES
Several prospective buyers have sub-
mitted nonbinding "expressions of in-
terest" in acquiring United Press In-
te&7ttional, U.P.I. executives said yes-
terday.
Sources close to the situation who
Asked not to be identified said that
ad)dAg those submitting tentative pro-
- were major communication
companies, some significant financial
h{tt2 venture capital concerns, U.P.I.'s
individuals with former ties to the Cen-
tral intelligence Agency, and some for-
eign publishing companies.
=fit financially troubled news serv-
ice had set yesterday as a deadline for
expressions of interest, and it
to seek firm bids for the company
*Ilrly October. Those who indicated
interest are not obliged to submit
fOr" bids.
A bankruptcy judge must approve
W*Vkttal sale as part of the reorganiza-
ti!o}/ of the company, and it could be
l months before the situation is
ed, according to U.P.I. officials.
.I. filed for protection from its
States Bankruptcy Code last
and has been seeking a buyer
y officials said yesterday's re-
from prospective buyers, al-
inary estimate of how much
general description of how the
planned to operate the news
sjgtf#Cy, according to a U.P.I. spokes-
maa
f UPI
id
,...1
Wechsler pres
ent o
tat U.P.I. would not rule out con-
tion of other companies that
indicate serious interest in
in the next few days, even
the deadline has passed.
loose Indicating interest
..I. would not confirm the identi-
ties$t any of the parties who indicated
ingest yesterday, but a partial list,
oot led through sources who asked
nor* be identified, includes these con-
f and Western Industries,
among other things, is one of the
raft's leading book publishers and !
fittial information companies. Its
gigs include Simon & Schuster,
l3aYaiitount Pictures and Madison
Squ>e Garden. The company did not
return calls seeking confirmation yes-
terdav.
f1 iirner Broadcasting System Inc.,
toe;?'Atlanta-based communication
quft CBS Inc. but was rebuffed. Ac-
corAktg to Arthur Sando, vice president
or,-`t orporate communications of
IlAwr Broadcasting, the company is
"s`)ewing" the U.P.I. prospectus and
hseuoot decided whether an expression
of,ll Crest will be submitted.
wane Russo Companies, a Houston
in real estate development,
and hotels. A spokesman con-
p of investors. Lazard Freres
neservice, but did not say how much
it. tto offered.
4Osurt SerVaas, chairman of the
Ci> b Publishing Company, of Indian-
apsiIs, and his wife, Cory, editor and
pylMher of The Saturday Evening
s wife were part of a group he
not identify that offered $13.9
eatr this summer, an offer that was
allgqed to expire. The new proposal,
.e nes,ar un~c i"scTosed group
oLvV in telecomunicatioris. - Mr.
o lions o the entraTInfelIigence
Age_~c~- who wvas an adviser 19_ resi-
d Rea an 's re-e ecti_on caQaign,
wooden the C.I.A. for or six months
in _ in a job t t included supervi-
sion clan satins oeerat'ions. Re re-
egadly provided insider information
de tion and awarded dam-
ages-o1 $931,000 last year. Mr. Hugel
said it would be "absolutely ridicu-
loos to_tfiutTt.tha't 6is_connggn with
t1te I.A, would color a decision on_his
offer iilP.):.executives who-asked not
to be identified said that such a connec-
tiQn might suggest_that U.P.I. had
inappropriate links to the intelligence
orrga on, lbut eyidid no a that
Mr. u e was mg rul dbuf-ds a
sible buyer.
gob rt Cunningham, former owner
of the-Sat. eriran. an Enyll~h-lan-
gyage newspaper in Rome, From 1951
to 1964 he was an employee of the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agenc at one point
supervising~cTandes ne operations.
Mr. Cunningham, who is retired and
lives iniaw eTy's Islan~3~ intends
to couple U.P.I. with a newsppappe~r~~suT-
pleent tentative U Irod y s
Wor t tat woo carry naUOnal dver-
fisin
4The Wire Service Guild, the union
representing 750 U.P.I. employees.
Last Thursday guild officials and
U.P.I. management agreed to cooper-
ate in seeking a buyer. Dan Carmi-
chael, the union's secretary-treasurer,
said that the union's proposal opened
the door to a possible partership be-
tween the union and a buyer, but added
that the union would consider other
proposals and its expression of interest
did not mean it would fight any offer
other than its own.
9Reuters, the British news agency
that has made several tentative efforts
to acquire U.P.I. but has been re-
buffed, according to confidential U.P.I.
sources, because its offer included
changing U.P.I. from a general agency
into a more specialized one. A Reuters
spokesman said that the company
would have no comment.
Alan Patrikof Associates Inc., a
New York venture capital company.
No one at the company could be
reached for confirmation.
QThomas H. Lee Company, a Boston
investment banking concern. A spokes-
man said that the company's policy
was not to comment.
qGolder, Thoma & Cressey, a Chi-
cago venture capital company. All
company officials were out of town and
could not be reached, according to an
employee.
gVasquez Rana, a Mexican publisher
whose Sol chain of newspapers is one of
the largest in Mexico. Mr. Rana could
not be reached for comment.
I cEFE, Spain's national news agen-
cy. According to confidential sources,
EFE is representing a group of banks
and communication companies in its
potential bid. No representative of the
company could be reached for com-
ment.
gComtex Scientific Corporation, a
joint venture with U.P.I. that owns the
right to use U.P.I.'s news report as a
data base for electronic publishing. No
company representatives could be
reached for comment.
CPedro Lopez, chief operating offi-
cer and chief shareholder of Central
Federal Savings and Loan Company of
Miami, who had expressed an interest
in acquiring U.P.I. last spring. Mr.
Lopez could not be reached for com-
ment.
cTele-Communications Inc., of Den-
ver, one of the nation's largest cable
television companies. No one at the
company could be reached for com-
ment.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000201120002-3