From what I've heard from a local financial show, he needs to show a certain amount of revenue to be able to get his leveraged move cleared by the powers that be. Right now, it's 50/50 that his deal will be finalized because the numbers aren't what they need to be. On top of that, he wants to sell one of the biggest sources of revenue in the Cubs.
Sam Zell And Tribune Deal: Less Than He Bargained For?
Tuesday, 24 Jul 2007
Sam Zell fought for and won the Tribune acquisition with a whopping $8.2 billion dollar deal. But now, a day ahead of Tribune's quarterly earnings report it looks like Zell might have gotten a bad deal--less than he bargained for, if we're talking revenue. Now he has about a month in which he can still back out of the deal, which would send this buyout target back into bidding chaos. And then there's the issue of whether shareholders will approve the takeover at the upcoming August 21 shareholder meeting.
The business is looking weaker than ever--weaker than Zell thought when he pushed to snag the company. Tribune's
Tribune Co
TRB
25.58 0.30 +1.19%
Quote | Chart | News | Profile | Add to Watchlist
[TRB 25.58 0.30 (+1.19%) ] May revenue fell 11% to $406 million as revenue from its publishing division slid 10 percent to $292 million and sales from the broadcast and entertainment group fell 13% to $114 million. The whole industry is sufferening--McClatchy and Gannett also sufferining declines. May advertising at the New York Times dropped 8.5%. But it's not exactly a source of confidence for Zell that no matter how bad the rest of the industry is doing, Tribune is doing even worse. The Los Angeles Times, a keystone of the company, is suffering double digit drops in revenue and cash flow. Zell wanted the company for its cash flow--so if the cash flow is dropping, will Zell still want it?
Sam Zell And Tribune Deal: Less Than He Bargained For?
Tuesday, 24 Jul 2007
Sam Zell fought for and won the Tribune acquisition with a whopping $8.2 billion dollar deal. But now, a day ahead of Tribune's quarterly earnings report it looks like Zell might have gotten a bad deal--less than he bargained for, if we're talking revenue. Now he has about a month in which he can still back out of the deal, which would send this buyout target back into bidding chaos. And then there's the issue of whether shareholders will approve the takeover at the upcoming August 21 shareholder meeting.
The business is looking weaker than ever--weaker than Zell thought when he pushed to snag the company. Tribune's
Tribune Co
TRB
25.58 0.30 +1.19%
Quote | Chart | News | Profile | Add to Watchlist
[TRB 25.58 0.30 (+1.19%) ] May revenue fell 11% to $406 million as revenue from its publishing division slid 10 percent to $292 million and sales from the broadcast and entertainment group fell 13% to $114 million. The whole industry is sufferening--McClatchy and Gannett also sufferining declines. May advertising at the New York Times dropped 8.5%. But it's not exactly a source of confidence for Zell that no matter how bad the rest of the industry is doing, Tribune is doing even worse. The Los Angeles Times, a keystone of the company, is suffering double digit drops in revenue and cash flow. Zell wanted the company for its cash flow--so if the cash flow is dropping, will Zell still want it?
