The New York Times has been reported to be moving ahead with plans to raise funds to finance a $400-million revolving credit line that expires in May.

The move is reported to be one that ensures some amount of flexibility in "these difficult markets". Earlier, the Washington Post Company was reported to have filed a similar prospectus in November for possible debt securities.

Simultaneously, two Boston businessmen have denied reports that they were looking at acquiring the The Boston Globe newspaper and a stake in the Red Sox baseball team, both of which are owned by the New York Times Company.

Media reports had quoted some names as prospective suitors for the two properties, which are reported to be on the block to help the New York Times pay off its looming debt obligations that have started to threaten its financial health. Shares of the NYT dropped during trading hours and closed at $7.02 on the New York Stock Exchange, while after hours trading saw them lose another eight per cent to $6.47.

The owner and publisher of The Boston Globe's rival Boston Herald, Patrick Purcell, said that he had neither been approached by potential bidders for The Boston Globe, nor had he contacted the New York Times to discuss acquiring it.

Similarly, former advertising executive Jack Connors also told The Boston Globe that he was not in the running for either of the properties.

Earlier in December Purcell took over as the executive chairman of Ottaway Newspapers, which is a group of local papers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, even as he continues to run the Herald independently. He rubbished a report by the Financial Times that its proposed scenario of merging the Globe into News Corp and shutting down the Herald "is completely unfounded and not rooted in reality."

In a statement, he said that he wanted to keep "two editorial voices in Boston", and wanted to ensure Boston remains a two-newspaper town at a time when US newspapers are facing a challenging future with readers increasingly migrating from print editions to internet or online editions.

Jack Connors, who had shown some interest two years ago in buying the Globe in partnership with former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, said he was not interest in acquiring either the newspaper or a reported 17.5-per cent stake in New England Sports Ventures that owns the Red Sox. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times had reported around a week ago that the New York Times had approached Connors.

Both properties of the New York Times, New England Sports Ventures and The Boston Globe, have been reported to be on the block by the media, which said that they could be sold together or independent of each other.

New England Sports Ventures owns the Red Sox baseball team, the Fenway Park field where the Boston-based team plays, and 80 per cent of the New England Sports Network that covers New England and broadcasts Red Sox games.

The sports venture is reported to be worth around $200 million, which would prove invaluable to repay debt and buffer NYT's cash reserves at a time when its advertising revenues are witnessing a severe decline.

The Globe is reported to be far less valuable, with reports pegging the estimated value of the newspaper at around $20 million, a far cry from the $1 billion that the New York Times paid for it and its related assets around 10 years ago.

The NYT's filing with the SEC is also being seen as a move to offer more shares or other securities to the public, which could probably bring some relief to the company's cash concerns.

The New York Times has a $400 million credit line that falls due in May 2009. The paper is also borrowing $225 million against its Manhattan headquarters. In its bid to save cash, the NYT is cutting its dividend by nearly 75 per cent.