SYDNEY (Reuters) - San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman did not lodge a bid for Australia's Fairfax Media <FXJ.AX> before a Friday deadline, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Fairfax, Australia's oldest newspaper publisher, is subject to a bidding war between Hellman & Friedman and TPG Capital [TPG.UL]. Fairfax shares tumbled more than 8 percent towards the market close. A Fairfax spokesman was not immediately reachable for a comment.
Hellman & Friedman declined to immediately comment.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Swati Pandey; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
