Perelman now offers yet another plot twist, this one involving the papers' hedge-fund owners.
"In the end, I think that they will let other bidders in, especially if the other bidders are willing to pay a higher price," Perelman told the People's Paper.
"One way or another, I think we'll be able to make a bid. . . . I've never heard of anybody who wanted to sell something and didn't want to look at all of their options."
Local developer Bart Blatstein, who formed an investor group called Philly Hometown Media LLC to bid for PMN, has also complained about being shut out of the bidding process by Evercore Partners Inc., the firm that is managing the sale of the media company.
Perelman said that his billionaire son, Ronald, has gone around Evercore and reached out directly to the owners of PMN to plead their case.
"My son told them I'm interested in buying the papers," he said.
"I myself am waiting to see what the owners are going to do. They haven't made a move yet."
Thus far, only one investor group - headed by Ed Rendell and New Jersey Democrat George Norcross - has acknowledged that it is actively bidding for the papers. The New York Post has reported that Jeff Perelman, also a son of Raymond, is mounting his own bid, but when asked by the Daily News yesterday, Raymond Perelman said that he doesn't know anything about it.
"I'm not aware of that at all," he added. Jeff Perelman did not return a message requesting comment.
