Tribune CEO Says Protest Over Koch Newspaper Sale Is Premature

Tribune Company Chief Executive Officer Peter Liguori, responding to a protest over a possible sale of the Los Angeles Times to Koch Industries Inc., said speculation over potential buyers of the company’s papers is “premature.”

“There’s been a lot of noise recently about the possible sale of our newspapers and speculation on who the interested parties might be,” Liguori said in a memo to employees. “From the get-go, such speculation has been and is premature. A sale transaction is only one of our possible strategic options, and there are many others.” Koch Industries has been cited among several potential buyers -- a group that includes News Corp., Berkshire Hathaway, Wrapports LLC and Freedom Communications Inc., people familiar with the negotiations said in March. Labor groups, including the AFL-CIO, have raised concerns about a Koch purchase, citing the Koch brothers’ support for initiatives such as California’s Proposition 32, a failed ballot measure that would have prohibited unions from using payroll deductions for political purposes without permission.