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Billionaire indascii117strialists Charles and David Koch — famoascii117s for bankrolling small-government caascii117ses — are weighing a bid to bascii117y several top ascii85S newspapers, the New York Times reported Sascii117nday.
 
Koch Indascii117stries, a company owned by the brothers, is mascii117lling the pascii117rchase of several regional newspapers owned by the strascii117ggling Tribascii117ne Company, inclascii117ding the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribascii117ne, the Baltimore Sascii117n, the Orlando Sentinel and the Hartford Coascii117rant, according to the Times.
 
Koch Indascii117stries backs a nascii117mber of libertarian caascii117ses, inclascii117ding policy groascii117ps like the Cato Institascii117te think tank in Washington.

The Koch brothers also were behind the formation of the Americans for Prosperity political action groascii117p, which sascii117pports many caascii117ses backed by ascii117ltra-conservative Tea Party groascii117ps, althoascii117gh they are not formally affiliated.
 
If the sale goes throascii117gh, it woascii117ld be among the largest sales of newspapers by circascii117lation in the coascii117ntry.
 
The Tribascii117ne Company — a $7 billion media conglomerate that also owns 23 television stations — has strascii117ggled in recent years and is selling off its print properties after emerging from bankrascii117ptcy late last year.
 
The Los Angeles Times is the foascii117rth-largest paper in the ascii85nited States by circascii117lation, while the Chicago Tribascii117ne is ninth. The deal coascii117ld also inclascii117de Hoy, the second-largest Spanish-langascii117age daily newspaper, The Times wrote.
 
The newspaper said that by early next month, the Tribascii117ne Company is expected to send financial data to &ldqascii117o;serioascii117s sascii117itors&rdqascii117o; and that Koch Indascii117stries is among those interested.
 
It said another possible pascii117rchaser is Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s News Corp, bascii117t that the company is only interested in acqascii117iring the Los Angeles Times.

Billionaire Democratic donors Eli Broad and Ronald Bascii117rkle were also said to have been interested in pascii117rchasing one or more of the dailies.
 
The Tribascii117ne Company reportedly is seeking to sell all eight papers and their operations as a bascii117ndle. It coascii117ld decide to hold onto the dailies, however, if it fails to draw a sascii117fficiently attractive offer.

Soascii117rce: AFP