Tribune Co.'s Climb To Going Private Gets Steeper
TRIBUNE CO'S CLIMB TO GOING PRIVATE GETS STEEPER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Serena Ng serena.ng@wsj.com]
Tribune Co.'s prolonged and tortuous undertaking to sell itself isn't getting any easier. The newspaper and television concern cleared a hurdle yesterday by completing a tender offer for half of its shares, but to do so it had to commit to borrowing terms that could make its life more difficult in the months ahead. On April 2, Tribune said it would take itself private in a two-stage $8.2 billion deal backed by real-estate magnate Sam Zell. The deal, financed almost entirely by debt, isn't expected to close until late this year. To fund the tender offer that is the first stage of the buyout, and to refinance some existing debt, Tribune last week sold more than $7 billion in loans to debt investors. Even in today's easy- money atmosphere, the company's bankers had a tough time pushing the deal through. The bankers ended up forgoing roughly a third of about $120 million in fees to get the deal done. Tribune ended up agreeing to pay higher interest rates than planned on most of the debt. It also agreed to pay down a chunk of the loans within two years, rather than the seven-year term it sought. The moves raise questions about the company's ability to service its debt load while navigating the deteriorating newspaper business.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118001663047013412.html?mod=todays_us_mo...
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* Foundation to tender all of its Tribune Co. shares
Tribune Co.'s second-biggest shareholder, the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that the non-profit foundation intends to tender all of its 28 million Tribune Co. shares -- representing an 11.6 percent stake in the media company -- in Tribune's current $34-a-share tender offer.
http://feeds.chicagotribune.com/~r/chicagotribune/business/~3/119417149/...
* Judge Won't Stop Sam Zell Deal For Tribune Co.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...