Tribune Co.

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Tribune hires law firm to study Morgan Stanley suit

Tribune Co. has hired Chicago law firm Novack and Macey to explore the possibility of bringing legal action against Morgan Stanley, the New York investment bank.

The disclosure came in a bankruptcy court filing Friday asking for retroactive permission to hire the firm, which began looking into the matter in late August. Get the full story »

WGN legend Ward Quaal dies

Ward Quaal, who was hired in 1941 as a WGN-AM 720 staff announcer and went on to shape that station and WGN-Ch. 9 as an executive of Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.’s WGN Contintental Broadcasting, died Friday in an area nursing home. He was 91.

Two Tribune creditors file own reorganization plan

Two of the largest senior creditors in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case filed a plan of reorganization in Delaware bankruptcy court Friday, providing an alternative solution to the management plan that has been in place since earlier this year.

The move makes allies out of two distressed debt hedge funds, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Oaktree Capital Management, that had until recently been at odds with each other. And it comes in advance of a court-ordered mediation that is scheduled to begin Sept. 26. Get the full story »

Eisner downplays rumors of Tribune Co. role

Former Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner is downplaying reports he is being considered to head Tribune Co. after it exits bankruptcy protection.

The 68-year-old told a St. Louis radio station Tuesday that “somebody in the media” read more into his association with Tribune than was real. Get the full story »

Creditor seeks Ch. 11 trustee in Tribune Co. case

A large junior creditor in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case asked the judge to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee to administer potential legal claims surrounding the company’s ill-fated 2007 leveraged buyout.

Contending that the debtor, its management and lawyers for the committee of unsecured creditors face too many conflicts of interest, Aurelius Capital Management  said appointing an independent third party would be the only way to make sure potential claims get a fair hearing. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. creditors seek to sue Zell over LBO

The unsecured creditor’s committee in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case asked a Delaware judge Monday for the right to sue Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell, company officials and others who participated in the company’s ill-fated 2007 leveraged buyout. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. names Liebentritt chief restructuring officer

Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today named Donald Liebentritt chief restructuring officer, effective immediately. The company promoted David Eldersveld to be his successor as general counsel.

Judge names mediator in Tribune Co. bankruptcy

The judge in Tribune Co.’s stalemated bankruptcy case appointed a mediator Wednesday to try to forge a settlement of legal claims stemming from media company’s disastrous 2007 leveraged buyout.

The move comes after a reorganization plan previously filed by Tribune Co. management unraveled in the wake of an independent examiner’s report that supported many of the claims. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. committee to oversee reorganization

The board of directors of bankrupt Tribune Co. formed a special committee to oversee the media company’s contentious reorganization process and to manage any legal claims arising from its 2007 leveraged buyout.

Sources said the step is an effort to remove conflicts of interest from the debtor’s decision making process since some Tribune Co. board members and officers may be the target of buyout-related claims. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. to launch digital channel Antenna TV

Tribune Co., following the lead of WCIU-Ch. 26 parent Weigel Broadcasting, is launching a service supplying digital subchannel programming for local TV stations. Antenna TV, beginning Jan. 3, will deliver a round-the-clock slate of vintage TV series reruns and movies from Sony and DLT Entertainment to a secondary digital channel of WGN-Ch. 9 and those of other Tribune Co. stations.

Tribune Co. delays filing amendments to bankruptcy plan

Tribune Co. delayed filing anticipated amendments to its bankruptcy restructuring plan Friday, citing ongoing negotiations with creditors.

A week ago, in the wake of collapsed talks toward a new settlement in the case, Tribune Co. lawyers told a Delaware bankruptcy judge that the company would file plan amendments by Friday and provide suggestions for new schedule for voting and confirmation hearings on the revised plan. Get the full story »

Will Eisner be Tribune Co.’s next chairman?

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on July 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Michael Oneal and Sallie Hofmeister

Former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner is in discussions that could lead to his return to the media spotlight — as chairman of the now-bankrupt Tribune Co.

The Chicago-based media company’s largest creditors are having preliminary conversations with prospective candidates who could operate Tribune Co. once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.

Eisner, who has been dabbling in the digital world as an investor since stepping down from Disney in 2005, is among the candidates under consideration to replace Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell as chairman of the reorganized company. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. bankruptcy settlement breaks down

The settlement at the heart of Tribune Co.’s proposed reorganization plan has fallen apart, casting doubt on whether the Chicago-based media conglomerate can continue to control its own fate in bankruptcy court.

At a status hearing in Delaware Friday, Tribune Co. lead attorney James Conlan of Sidley Austin said the company planned to file unilateral amendments to its plan by next Friday and threatened to cast the case into extended litigation if the warring parties can’t come to an agreement.

“The debtor has tried mightily to bring the parties together,” Conlan said. “That hasn’t happened.” Get the full story »

Tribune bankruptcy judge gives company more time

The judge in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case suspended a Friday voting deadline on the company’s proposed reorganization plan, responding to a request for more time from Tribune Co. lawyers.

Citing “vigorous negotiations” toward a new settlement in the case, Tribune last Friday asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey for more time to work toward a more consensual agreement. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. asks bankruptcy judge for more time

Tribune Co., citing “vigorous negotiations” toward a new settlement with its creditors, asked the judge in its bankruptcy case for more time to work out a reorganization plan that “would maximize consensus” around a deal.

The move comes as the various bickering parties in the case realign their positions based on the findings contained in an independent examiner’s report studying claims surrounding the Chicago media conglomerate’s 2007 leveraged buyout.

That report, issued late last month, suggested that the $8.2 billion LBO orchestrated by Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell may have rendered the company insolvent from Day 1, lending support to various creditors’ arguments. Get the full story »