A Delaware judge ruled on Friday that the parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News must be dissolved and sold in an auction limited to its current feuding owners.
Delaware Vice Chancellor Donald Parsons also set a minimum bid price of $77 million for Interstate General Media and set a May 28 deadline for the auction.
The ruling is a victory for New Jersey Democratic power broker and insurance magnate George Norcross, who pushed for the private auction.
His rival, parking lot magnate and former New Jersey Nets and Devils owner Lewis Katz, and his ally, H.F. Lensfest, wanted to open the sale process to outside bidders.
The feud among the owners erupted when publisher Robert Hall, with backing from Norcross, fired chief editor William Marinow on Oct. 7, saying he was resisting changes needed to revive the paper.
Katz countered that Norcross and his allies were interfering with newsroom decisions, which is a violation of the partnership agreement.
A Philadelphia judge in November backed Katz and ruled that Marimow should be reinstated, although his current contract expires at the end of April.