Circulation dropping ... ad revenue dropping ... subscription revenue dropping ... readership dropping ... credibility dropping ... and now this. It's just not that much fun being a press baron these days.
Posted on 10/31/2010 7:28:32 AM PDT by Zakeet
A group of investors in bankrupt Tribune Co sued JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Citicorp and Bank of America, claiming the banks arranged $3.7 billion in loans in 2007 they knew the company could never repay.
"The Lead Banks knew that this financing was barred by the terms of the Credit Agreement and it was tainted with fraud and other misconduct," said the lawsuit, which was filed late on Friday.
Tribune, owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and 23 television stations, filed for bankruptcy in 2008, just a year after real estate developer Sam Zell bought the company with billions of dollars in debt.
[Snip]
The lawsuit, which claimed that the banks had no exposure to the loans and collected more than $120 million in fees, was filed in the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The plaintiffs, including Alden Global Distressed Opportunities Fund and Arrowgrass Distressed Opportunities Fund, claim that the loans arranged by the defendants prevented Tribune from paying back earlier debt obligations.
[Snip]
Tribune has been stuck in bankruptcy court for nearly two years. Its attempts to exit Chapter 11 have been overshadowed by a management upheaval.
The company last week replaced Chief Executive Randy Michaels, who became a target of critics following a New York Times story that quoted numerous employees who were upset at pervasive sexual banter and profanity among top managers.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Circulation dropping ... ad revenue dropping ... subscription revenue dropping ... readership dropping ... credibility dropping ... and now this. It's just not that much fun being a press baron these days.
Tribune, owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and 23 television stations, filed for bankruptcy in 2008, just a year after real estate developer Sam Zell bought the company with billions of dollars in debt.
Why does a “real estate developer” need 23 TV stations and dozens of newspapers ???
Why?
Were they considered such great investments even in 2007, that little Mr. Zell had to step up to the plate and buy $4,000,000,000 worth of media outlets,
(using 99% borrowed money and nearly Zero of his own?)
I wonder why he did this?
Why was NewsWeak sold for $1 to a 92 year old when others were offering higher???
Did Zell buy it too?
I noticed...
“The filing in a Delaware court set the stage for a showdown with those who back the company’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy. That plan has the support of other creditors including some big hedge funds and JPMorgan Chase & Co.”
Funny how JP Morgan wants to help out with newspapers, climate change, obama.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=n00009638
http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=18065
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.