Milstein Has "Full Confidence" in Times' Management

On the heels of the New York Times Company's disappointing earnings announcement yesterday, billionaire banker Howard Milstein has stepped up his support of Arthur Sulzberger Jr. in advance of Tuesday's annual shareholder meeting.

John Hart, vice chairman and treasurer of Milstein's Emigrant Bancorp told Conde Nast Portfolio today that Milstein has "full confidence in the management of the New York Times, and we will vote to reelect the current board."

In making his first public expression of support for Sulzberger and the Times, Milstein, the billionaire who bought 6 million shares of the New York Times Company worth $150 million in December, has surfaced as a powerful Sulzberger ally in the proxy fight being waged by Morgan Stanley Investment Management's Hassan Elmasry and Private Capital Management's Bruce Sherman.

Before buying his shares of the Times Company, Milstein called Sulzberger offering his support, and signaled that his investment was friendly, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Last year, more than 30-percent of the Times' shareholders withheld votes for the company's slate of board nominees, so Milstein's pro-Sulzberger move comes at a critical juncture for the paper.

This year, with Elmasry stepping up his public campaign against the Sulzbergers' control of the Times Company board through its Class-B voting shares, a higher percentage of votes are expected to be withheld at the meeting on Tuesday.

by Gabriel Sherman