WILMINGTON, Del. — Confirmation hearings in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case got under way Tuesday with a full day of testimony about the company’s tortured on-again-off-again effort to forge a settlement among its warring creditors.

Investment banker David Kurtz of Lazard Ltd., who spearheaded negotiations on behalf of Chicago-based Tribune Co. for two years, described a “painful and difficult” process paralyzed by the obstructionist behavior among the creditors.

He said efforts to broker a deal among creditors sparring over legal claims related to Tribune Co.’s 2007 leverage buyout were repeatedly undone by the aggressive tactics of hedge funds on all sides of the case who bought the company’s distressed debt hoping to profit from a restructuring. Get the full story »