Expiring Tribune bid likely to stay alive

CHICAGO, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Los Angeles billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle's bid for Tribune Co. will likely remain in play even though it was to expire Wednesday, a news report said.

The offer is viewed as attractive because it involves an immediate $27-a-share cash dividend plus an infusion of $500 million in capital, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Tribune declined comment. Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons has said the Tribune board would decide by March 31.

The original three-party bidding for the media company that also owns 23 TV stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team has been energized after it was reported Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. joined the bidding, with an eye on Tribune's Newsday on Long Island, outside New York City.

News Corp. joined the Chandler family, Tribune's biggest shareholder, in the hope of combining printing and back-office costs at Newsday with Murdoch's money-losing New York Post, The Financial Times reported.

The Chandler family wants to take Tribune's newspaper assets private and spin off its broadcast division in $7.6 billion deal.

Private-equity firm Carlyle Group submitted a bid for the television stations only. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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