It’s one of Wall Street’s intriguing guessing games: Who, if anyone, will snap up the newspaper publisher Pulitzer Inc., which on Monday put itself on the block.

Overwhelmingly, the best bet, I’m told, is publishing biggie Gannett Co., the owner of USA Today, in what shapes up in any event as a billion-dollar-plus buyout.

The Gannett conjecture is what I get from several of the Street’s leading trackers of the publishing industry, as well as some publishing executives, who believe that Gannett – which they deem as the most likely buyer – will make a concerted effort to acquire Pulitzer, if it hasn’t already done so.

Some analysts, as well as several publishing firms, consider Pulitzer overpriced at current levels, given its recent stock surge following the revelation it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. Still, a couple of investment bankers think the company could fetch between $65 and $70 a share, which is equivalent to a buyout price of roughly $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion.

On news of the possible sale, Pulitzer’s shares shot up on Monday by 17%, or $9.44, to $64.25. The stock closed Wednesday at $63.75, just a shade below its 52-week high of $64.75 and up about 50% from it’s 52-week low of $43.71.

Pulitzer owns more than a dozen daily papers across America, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Daily Star in Tuscon. It also publishes more than 65 weekly and bi-weekly community papers, and owns a small piece of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club. Its revenues last year were $422.7 million.

Officially, a Gannett spokesperson said, “We’re not going to comment on Pulitzer,” but unofficially one Gannett director made it clear the company is hot for the acquisition. “Sure, we’re interested in Pulitzer,” he said. “It would be a prize catch, and we’ll definitely take a hard look at it and see what’s what. You don’t have to be a business wizard to know it’s a perfect fit for us.” He declined to say anything beyond that.

Pulitzer’s reaction to wedding bells with Gannett? Alas, no reaction. The company didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.

Based on conversations with industry sources, Prudential Securities analyst Steven Barlow has concluded that Gannett is the front-runner. He believes $65 is the likely price for all of the company’s shares (both the public common and the class B stock held by the Pulitzer family). He also feels the company will be sold in one piece in a stock sale, rather than as a break-up into several asset sales, which would create a huge tax hit.

Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Rich Fine thinks Gannett would have the most to gain from a Pulitzer acquisition, citing its 50/50 joint operating agreement with Pulitzer involving the Arizona Daily Star. Gannett, she points out, would also benefit from owning a second TV station in St. Louis. It already owns KSDK, the NBC affiliate in that city.

Analysts say two potential rivals to Gannett are Belo, which owns TV stations in St. Louis and Tuscon, and Knight-Ridder.

Meanwhile, there are potential legal hitches to a deal. In June of 2003, the Federal Communications Commission voted to lift long-standing restrictions on press ownership, including one that prohibits newspaper publishers from owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same market. But three months later, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. District Court of Appeals in Philadelphia issued an order blocking the rules from taking effect until a higher court could decide their legality. In June of this year, though, the Court of Appeals ordered the FCC to explain more fully its reasons for wanting to scrap the old ownership rules.

Ms. Fine, who said she was surprised at the Pulitzer announcement, given the uncertainty surrounding press ownership rules, thinks any would-be buyer will be forced to “push the courts” to affect a reasonable transaction.

Aside from the legal stumbling block, there is also the question of price. One Hearst official, noting that “Pulitzer is not our cup of tea,” also contends “the company is no bargain.” A.G. Edwards apparently shares that view, having just cut its rating on Pulitzer from a “buy” to a “hold,” citing what it says are valuation concerns.

Further, Pulitzer sports a lofty price/earnings multiple of 31.1, versus 17.2 for Gannett and 21.1 for the New York Times company.