Tribune Draws Three Offers, All Short of Original Hopes

TRIBUNE DRAWS THREE OFFERS, ALL SHORT OF ORIGINAL HOPES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah Ellison sarah.ellison@wsj.com]
At least three groups, including the Chandler family and a pairing of Los Angeles billionaires Ron Burkle and Eli Broad, submitted sharply varying proposals for newspaper and TV empire Tribune Co. by last night's bid deadline, giving the company's board the difficult task of deciding how to proceed. None of the bidders is offering to pay a premium for all of Tribune, the type of offer the company's board and the Chandler family were hoping to get when the company put itself on the auction block in September. Even so, the board will likely come under pressure from shareholders to pursue some dramatic action. The Chandler family's offer is seen as a last-ditch effort to rescue the value of its stake in the company. Under the proposal, which hadn't been finalized, the Chandlers and private-equity partners would buy the newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, while Tribune would spin off its TV stations. The family's advisers have received a commitment from one private-equity firm for half of the money needed for the deal, according to people familiar with the proposal, but are trying to find additional investors. The Chandlers envision holding 51% of the newspapers, while partners would hold the remainder. Burkle and Broad proposed a leveraged recapitalization, under which they would borrow roughly $10.5 billion and offer Tribune shareholders $27 a share in a cash dividend that would leave shareholders with equity valued at $7 a share. The valuation of the proposal could vary, depending on what value would be put on existing shares, but the proposal says the offer is worth roughly $34 a share. The two men are also offering $500 million in cash, which would give them roughly 34% of equity control of the company. The company also received at least one proposal from a private-equity firm interested in the company's TV stations.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116906723798879341.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
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* No Bidders Announced for Tribune Co.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011702059.html

* Chandlers, Moguls in Battle for Tribune
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-tribune18jan18,1,7428890.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage