An NYT bailout?

Well, sort of.

Carlos Slim, the world's second richest man, is apparently mulling a $250 million investment in the New York Times Co.

Bloomberg reports the telemarketing billionaire from Mexico "may buy 10-year notes that are convertible into common stock and receive a special annual dividend as high as 10 percent on the investment."

Talk about a leap of faith. Slim already has holdings in the company, but if approved, this new deal would really bank on a turnaround in revenues at the company's flagship paper. Like so many of its counterparts, ad sales at the New York Times have been drying up despite the fact that the NYT is the nation's third-largest newspaper publisher and has one of the most trafficked news Web sites. 

An announcement on the deal is expected to be made today.