Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, the world’s second richest man, has become the third largest outside shareholder of the New York Times, after reporting a 6.4 per cent stake worth $127m.

The purchase, disclosed in a US regulatory filing on Wednesday, comes months after Harbinger Capital Partners purchased close to 20 per cent of the publisher of the namesake newspaper and the Boston Globe and launched a proxy war for board seats.