New York Times Company Trolling for Tech Startups, Looking for Acquisition

Si Newhouse isn’t the only dead tree aficionado looking to Startupland for frothier revenues. Bloomberg reports that, for the first time in more than three years, the New York Times Company is considering an acquisition and CEO Janet Robinson says its target is technology or information companies that can add the paper’s newfound digital dollars.

“It’s working from a revenue perspective,” Ms. Robinson said of the paid online subscription model introduced back in March. By September, digital subscriptions were up to 324,00o. The Boston Globe, also owned by the Times Company, introduced paid subscriptions in October. With that money, the company has been paying down its debt. Coupled with reduced costs, they now have the finances to start buying growth. And what better place to look than the bubbling tech sector?

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The company, whose stock has been down more than 20 percent this year, will likely be looking for acquisitions that can counteract sliding ad revenue, which was down 8.8 percent in the third quarter.

Now that About.com, another property owned by the Times, is trying to shed its spammy image for the world of premium online video, perhaps the New York Times might be in the market for another content farm?