New York Times Co. received a formal bid valuing the Boston Globe at more than $100 million last month from a former Globe executive and a Boston private-equity firm, though about a third of the value would come from the buyers assuming some of the paper's pension liabilities, according to people familiar with the matter.

That bid remains on the table, but this week the Times announced it had hired Evercore Partners to shop the New England Media Group, whose main asset is the paper.

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