Tribune Co. Board Pressured to Accept Zell's Bid

TRIBUNE CO BOARD PRESSURED TO ACCEPT ZELL'S BID
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
Two powerful forces are pushing Tribune Co.'s board of directors toward Chicago billionaire Sam Zell's bid for the troubled media empire: the rapid and recent deterioration of the newspaper advertising market and the backing of Tribune's largest and most contentious shareholder group. Saturday is the company's self-imposed deadline for deciding what to do. The board's favored plan is to accept Zell's outside offer, though it could still pursue its own refinancing plan. And Southern California billionaires Ronald Burkle and Eli Broad could still sweeten their offer, which Tribune put on the back burner last month because it would give the pair control of the company. In recent weeks, Zell's $8 billion bid for Tribune's nine newspapers and 25 television and radio stations has looked more attractive to the company's board, said a source close to the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because discussions are ongoing. Zell, a real estate magnate who recently sold Equity Office Properties for $39 billion, is offering $33 a share for Tribune, a 6 percent premium on yesterday's share price.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR200703...
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* 2 Suitors for Tribune Co. Renew Their Interest
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/business/media/29paper.html

* How Zell's offer for Tribune might work
Some hints about the structure of the Zell bid have surfaced in conversations with several people familiar with the auction, all of whom declined to be identified because the process is supposed to be confidential. Those hints, together with comments from finance and legal experts, suggest ways that a Zell buyout could work. Until Zell or Tribune supplies more details, however, any picture is speculative.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-esop29mar29,1,7272533...

* Judge delays sale of Tribune's Stamford Advocate to Gannett
A federal judge says the sale can't go through until the future of a union contract for newsroom employees is settled. The union says Gannett plans to rip up the contract between Tribune and 36 Advocate union members; the union filed a grievance saying that any new owner is bound to honor the contract.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/scn-injunction,0,6402629.story?coll=stam...