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Westinghouse, Dow Make New Bid for FNN

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The bidding contest for Financial News Network Inc. heated up Wednesday as Dow Jones & Co. and Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. offered $115 million for the troubled cable channel.

FNN, as reported, had signed a definitive agreement Feb. 26 to be acquired for $105 million by a unit of General Electric Co.’s NBC network.

The door to higher offers was opened after FNN sought protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on March 1, and Judge Francis Conrad ruled that he would entertain new bids if they were at least $10 million more than NBC’s.

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Additionally, on March 14, the Federal Trade Commission made a second request for information on the proposed NBC-FNN deal. The commission said the proposed transaction “raises substantial antitrust concerns” because it would eliminate one of the two existing business and financial news cable channels. NBC operates the Consumer News and Business Channel.

NBC spokeswoman Susan Green declined to say whether the company would increase its bid, though she implied as much when she said: “We fully intend to acquire FNN and are confident the closing will take place after court approval.”

The court has scheduled a hearing for April 3 to consider bids for the company. An FNN spokeswoman said it “intends to abide by the decision of the court.”

Dow Jones and Westinghouse began the bidding for FNN on Feb. 12, when they agreed in principle to acquire the company for a reported $90 million. The Feb. 12 agreement included about $15 million in cameras and other studio equipment. The new bid excludes the equipment to make it comparable with the GE deal.

Under the order, any bids higher that GE’s were due by March 25, but no procedure was established for GE to top overbids.

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