Lewis Katz, ‘The Most Unique Man I Ever Met’

Lewis Katz would tell you he was just a kid from Camden who grew up to walk with presidents.

He was consistent in his passions, blunt in his opinions, a man who adored his family, detested dishonesty, and was as comfortable in $1,100 hand-made Italian shirts as he was in loud green sneakers.

He made his own fortune, owned magnificent homes in New York, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and never lost his affection for the gravelly streets of the city where he was raised.

Mr. Katz, 72, whose enormous wealth never obscured his devotion to the less fortunate or his love of the underdog, was killed on Saturday in a plane crash in Massachusetts.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20140602_Lewis_Katz___The_most_unique_man_I_ever_met_.html#4qfCARKdFtudIIFL.99

Businessman Lewis Katz Buying Philadelphia Newspapers

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Businessman Lewis Katz and philanthropist H.G. “Gerry” Lenfest will take over Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers from their partners with an $88 million auction bid.

Katz and another businessman, George Norcross, had bought The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philly.com news website for $55 million in 2012. But they began feuding and competed to take control at Tuesday’s auction.

Katz made his fortune investing in the Kinney Parking empire and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in New York. He supports the investigative reporting favored by current Inquirer editor Bill Marimow.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20140527/businessman-lewis-katz-buying-philadelphia-newspapers

Fast Eddie Part Of Group Looking To Buy Philadelphia Inquirer

Image via Wikipedia

Looks like Fast Eddie’s back in the saddle again!

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider are leading a “civic-minded” effort to buy Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers, Rendell said Friday.

The six-person group submitted a non-binding “letter of interest” Thursday in Philadelphia Media Network, which operates The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

News reports surfaced this week that two hedge funds with major stakes in the company want to sell. The firms, Alden Global Capital and Angelo Gordon, had led the creditors’ $139 million takeover of the company at a September 2010 bankruptcy auction.

Rendell could not confirm their intentions, but said a third party has been reaching out to potential investors in recent weeks. The media company would be bought outright, he said.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2012/02/04/news/doc4f2d48b30ba13550941899.txt