SAN JOSE, Calif. — With at least two bids on the table, Knight Ridder's board of directors is scheduled to meet tomorrow in New York to weigh offers in the possible sale of the San Jose newspaper company.

Knight Ridder, the nation's second-largest newspaper company and owner of the San Jose Mercury News, offered itself up for sale under pressure from its three largest shareholders who were unhappy with its stock performance.

The company has received bids from McClatchy, the Sacramento, Calif., newspaper chain that owns the Sacramento Bee, and a private equity consortium of Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital and Oak Hill Partners.

The McClatchy offer is for cash and some stock, while the private equity consortium is making an all-cash offer.

A third bid is expected from MediaNews, but it was not known whether one has been submitted. It would be surprising if Denver-based MediaNews, owner of the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, did not bid. Its owner, Dean Singleton, has put considerable energy into the sale, visiting the Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and St. Paul Pioneer Press.

A source familiar with the company said yesterday that the situation is "still fluid."

MediaNews is teamed with private equity firms Madison Dearborn Partners, Onex and Vestar Partners. The company has negotiated with Gannett on possibly teaming up for an offer, sources say.

Gannett and MediaNews had no comment. Nor did Knight Ridder spokesman Polk Laffoon.

Knight Ridder has said that a sale is only one option. But a number of sources close to the process said the company would be compelled to sell at $65 or more a share. One published report has pegged McClatchy's offer at something above that figure.

Knight Ridder's stock closed yesterday at $65 a share, up from Thursday's close of $62.66.

McClatchy closed up at $53.24. That is still low for a company that was trading at more than $65 a share six months ago.

McClatchy, with $1.2 billion in revenue last year, is considerably smaller than Knight Ridder, which had $3 billion in revenue.

But its relatively low stock price could make its offer of cash and stock more attractive, because its stock has plenty of room to rise, analysts say. In such a deal, Knight Ridder shareholders would get a mix of cash and McClatchy stock.

Knight Ridder shareholders will have to approve any deal.

Private Capital Management Chief Executive Bruce Sherman, who now owns 17 percent of Knight Ridder's stock, began the process of forcing the company to offer itself up for sale. Last November, he sent a letter to the board urging the company to explore options to raise its stock price. That process is expected to conclude this weekend or early next week with Knight Ridder's board deciding whether to accept one of the offers.

Sherman, meanwhile, also owns 35 percent of McClatchy's non-voting stock.

PCM had no comment.