The battle for gaining control for Tribune Company intensified two billionaires put in a last minute bid. Southern California billionaires Eli Broad and Ronald Burkle have reportedly improved their offer for the distressed Tribune Co. media empire, outbidding Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell. The two billionaires have made the latest offer just two days before the company’s self-imposed deadline for announcing its plans for the future. The increased bid has now valued that company at $8.2 billion.
According to the reports, Broad and Burkle have offered $34 per share for Tribune, representing $1 per share more than Zell, including $500 million in cash. In addition, they also proposed to recapitalize the company by adding debt and implementing an employee stock-ownership plan, as Zell has presented before.
However, the latest request complicates negotiations for directors of Chicago-based Tribune, who were supposedly close to accepting Zell’s offer before a self-imposed deadline of March 31. The firm, the owner of the Chicago Tribune and the Cubs baseball team, was placed for sale six months back, and had postponed the deadline for offers to try to mobilize demand. Earlier, Zell was the sole runner for the acquisition of the company.
Following the Zell’s plan, Burkle and Broad too would use the $1.76 billion in Tribune’s employee pension to create an employee stock ownership program, which would help finance the acquisition. Tribune had signaled its willingness to sell all or part of the company in September after being pressurized by many large shareholders infuriated by its drooping stock price and flaccid fortunes.
