Palm Beach Post Staff and Wire Services
January 11, 1989
LANTANA – GP Group Inc., owner of the National Enquirer and World Weekly News, has begun telling potential buyers the proper way to bid.
The company is being sold as part of instructions left by founder Generoso Pope, who died Oct. 2. Its value has been estimated at $250 million to $400 million.
The sale of the GP Group will be conducted as an auction, according to a spokesman for the Pope estate’s three trustees. Under criteria set by Pope, the trustees must approve the buyer with the best offer, “including price, conditions and contingencies.”
A release issued Tuesday said that while GP Group management and Pope family members wish to bid for the company, they would have no advantage in the process. A number of Enquirer’s 350 employees have advocated that Pope’s son Paul, 21, take control of the company.
The bidding and selection process is expected to continue into the second quarter of this year. The sale is being handled by investment banking firms The Blackstone Group and Veronis, Sutler & Associates Inc. and interested parties are asked to contact them.
Paul David Pope 