A representative of Carlos Slim said the telecom titan is not planning to buy the remaining part of the New York Times that he does not already own.
Alfredo Estrella | AFP | Getty Images
Carlos Slim
After CNBC reported the denial, shares of NYT fell from their highs. NYT had moved up by as much as 10 percent before the report, on rumors that the Mexican media mogul, and one of the world's richest men, would be buying the company.
In September of 2008, Slim spent $123 million to buy 6.4 percent of the NY Times; 9.1 million shares at a price of roughly $13.50 a share.
In January of 2009, he lent the company $250 million under very expensive terms: 14.1 percent. That gives him a cool $35 million in interest payments every year.
But Slim also recieved warrents that could be converted to a total of 15.9 million shares. The strike price on those warrents is $6.3572. Those are deep in the money — and right now would lead to a profit of $80 million. (An earlier version of this story had an incorrect profit figure.)
In several interviews with CNBC, Slim has said he loves the NY Times brand, because it is the best in the business of newspapers.
"They are not a paper factory, they are a news factory, and news has value," he said. He told CNBC in January that he believed the Times, and all other newspapers, would start charging for content on the web.
-- CNBC has a content sharing agreement with the New York Times.
