June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Brian Tierney, who led a group that bought the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News last year for $515 million, said he may bid for Dow Jones & Co., competing with Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion offer.

In a statement, Tierney confirmed comments he made to the Wall Street Journal expressing interest in the New York-based company, publisher of Barron's and the Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones' board put the company up for sale last week after the controlling Bancroft family agreed to consider Murdoch's offer and other possible bids.

Tierney, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, is the second potential bidder to surface as Dow Jones and the Bancrofts consider selling the company to Murdoch's News Corp. for $60 a share. Dow Jones's union, the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, has enlisted billionaire Ron Burkle to attract alternatives to Murdoch's bid.

``We don't believe News Corporation is overpaying,'' Tierney, a former advertising executive, said in the statement. ``If there is a process for the sale of the business we would be inclined to participate in partnership with others.''

Dow Jones spokeswoman Andrea Grinbaum declined to comment. Roy Winnick, spokesman for the Bancrofts, had no immediate comment.

Shares of New York-based Dow Jones rose 3 cents to $60.19 at 10:30 a.m. New York time in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Through yesterday, the shares had risen 66 percent since News Corp.'s bid became public.

The Inquirer increased average weekday circulation by 6.6 percent to 352,593 in the six months ended March 31 from 330,622 as of Sept. 30. In January, the newspaper eliminated 68 jobs, or 17 percent of the newsroom staff, two weeks after union employees agreed to forgo pay raises.

The cuts came after Tierney's company, which bought the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News from McClatchy Co., said in October that some jobs must be eliminated to help make debt payments.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net, or Leon Lazaroff in New York at llazaroff@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 7, 2007 10:41 EDT