Mike Allen proclaims 91-year-old Sidney Harman and Marc Lasry, the billionaire hedge funder who is chummy with the Clintons, the two most elegible Newsweek buyers, after the final round of bidding closed Thursday evening. Both men have the money and, Mr. Allen writes, are intent on “preserving some semblance of the serious-minded, essentially New-Democratic tone set by Jon Meacham.” This is important; The Washington Post Co. is looking for a “steward” for the magazine, not just somebody with deep enough pockets to keep it afloat.
In Mr. Allen’s view, Fred Drasner and Paul Ingrassia don’t have the digital wherewithal to take over the magazine. But what about their partner, Fast Company founder Alan Webber?
All three parties have confirmed that they submitted bids yesterday.
Mr. Allen also brings Carlos Slim back into the conversation because, sure, why not. In May, a spokesperson for Mr. Slim told Reuters that he was not intersted in the magazine. Yesterday, The Washington Post Co. told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that the company will not have anything to say for weeks.
