Mumbai: Former General Electric Co boss Jack Welch and advertising executive Jack Connors are considering a joint bid for The Boston Globe, part of The New York Times group, reports quoting a spokesman for Connors said.

The report said the two businessmen are working with JP Morgan Chase & Co and other local investors, but are yet to talk directly with the Times. JP Morgan had valued the newspaper at $550 million to $600 million — below the $1.1 billion the Times paid in 1993, the report said.

"They have talked to JP Morgan Chase so there have been conversations on that level, but the conversations have not progressed to where the group has approached The New York Times," said the Connors spokesman, Will Keyser. "At this point, the conversation is among friends, among investors and among people who may be interested in looking at The Globe," Keyser added.

A Globe report said Welch and Connors are looking to assemble a small group of local business people for a bid that would include debt and equity. A third partner, Boston concessionaire Joseph O'Donnell, also has committed $25 million, The Globe said. The three have tentatively committed $25 million each to the deal, newspaper said quoting executives involved in the talks.

Both Connors and Welch declined to confirm or deny a likely deal.

Welch, who left GE in 2001, now teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. Connors is a founding partner and chairman of Boston advertising agency Hill Holiday.

The Globe has seen a steady erosion in circulation and ad revenue over the years, making it a fit case for sale. The Globe is also struggling to hold on to advertisers and readers amid growing Web-based competition.

The Globe's daily paid circulation fell 8.5 per cent to about 397,000 copies for the six-month period ended March 31, compared with the same period in 2005, according to data published by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

Revenue at the Times' New England group, which includes The Boston Globe, fell 8.9 per cent to $149 million in the third quarter.

The Times and the Boston Globe declined to comment on "potential acquisitions or divestitures." JPMorgan also declined comment.