Brian Tierney, the man who led an investor buyout of The Philadelphia Inquirer, has indicated that he is willing to join any consortium prepared to submit a counter-bid for Dow Jones, parent company of The Wall Street Journal.

Mr Tierney said: “If there is a process for the sale of the business we would be inclined to participate in partnership with others.” He described the company as “one of the greatest journalistic enterprises ever created”.

However, despite his statement, and the tentative interest of Ron Burkle, the supermarket magnate, earlier this week, the Dow Jones share price eased to just over News Corporation’s $60-a-share bid, reflecting scepticism on Wall Street as to whether either was serious.

The stock was down 13 cents at $60.03 in early trading yesterday, valuing the company at about $5 billion (£2.5 billion).

Last year Mr Tierney and his syndicate bought The Philadelphia Inquirer and its sister title the Daily News for $515 million. A native of the city with a career in public relations, he helped to buy the title after it was sold by McClatchy. The deal was hailed as bringing in a new era of local, private ownership, although Mr Tierney has been forced to make job cuts during his short period in charge.

The Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones, is still considering how to respond to this week’s meeting with Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp, parent company of The Times.

It is thought that an agreement with News Corp on a governance structure that would guarantee the Journal’s editorial independence might be possible in the next few weeks, paving the way for its bid to go through.

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