Philip Anschutz's newspaper company is not bidding for Metro's US freesheets, despite published reports saying otherwise, an Anschutz's spokesman told Denver Business Journal.

However, Metro International's CEO Per Mikael Jensen recently told me the company currently is undergoing a strategic review where they are looking at what is core and non-core markets for the freesheet pioneer. – Our focus is on improving financial results, said Jensen. To illustrate what we can expect from this strategic review, he cited how the company recently closed a real estate supplement in Stockholm and sold 60 per cent of its Czech operation to a competitor (Mafra). Metro's Finnish operation was recently sold to Sanoma. Jensen confirmed that there was a lot of interest in the company these days and said "It's a bit like being at a ball and everybody wants to dance with you." (more here, in Norwegian). See Piet Bakker's interesting analysis of what might be going on in the company here.