Tribune Granted Regulatory Approvals by Federal Communications Commission
November 30 2007 - 5:52PM
PR Newswire (US)
FCC Grants Transfer of Television Station Licenses and Extension of
Waivers; Going-Private Transaction Expected to Close By End of 2007
CHICAGO, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company
(NYSE:TRB) today announced that the Federal Communications
Commission has approved the transfer of its broadcasting licenses
and the extension of its cross-ownership waivers in markets where
the company owns both a television station and a newspaper.
Tribune's going-private transaction is expected to close by year
end following satisfaction of the remaining closing conditions,
including the receipt of a solvency opinion and completion of the
committed financing. "We appreciate today's action by the FCC,
which allows our transaction to move forward," said Dennis
FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive
officer. "We look forward to implementing the new ownership
structure that will enable us to focus all of our energy and
resources on Tribune's future." On April 2, 2007, Tribune announced
its intention to become a private company, owned 100 percent by an
employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). When the transaction closes,
Sam Zell's investment in the company will increase to $315 million
and he will become chairman of Tribune's board of directors. To
complete the transaction, Tribune sought FCC approval to transfer
the operating licenses of its broadcast stations to new ownership.
The company also asked for an extension of existing waivers of the
FCC's cross-ownership rule in New York, Los Angeles, Hartford and
South Florida -- markets in which Tribune operates both a newspaper
and television station. The waivers granted today are temporary,
pending the outcome of the FCC's ongoing review of media ownership
rules. In Chicago, the company will be exempt from cross-ownership
restrictions through a permanent waiver provision. TRIBUNE
(NYSE:TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating
businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It reaches
more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media
organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in
the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune's leading
daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune,
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida
Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company's
broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, Superstation
WGN on national cable, Chicago's WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs
baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement
Tribune's print and broadcast properties and extend the company's
nationwide audience. Forward-Looking Statements This press release
contains certain comments or forward-looking statements that are
based largely on the company's current expectations and are subject
to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. You can identify these
and other forward looking statements by the use of such words as
"will," "expect," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "intend,"
"continue," or the negative of such terms, or other comparable
terminology. Forward-looking statements also include the
assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing
statements. Actual results could differ materially from the
expectations expressed in these statements. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ include risks related to the
transactions being consummated; the risk that financing might not
be obtained in a timely manner, without conditions, or at all; the
impact of the substantial indebtedness incurred to finance the
consummation of the merger; the ability to satisfy all closing
conditions in the definitive agreements; difficulties in retaining
employees as a result of the merger agreement; risks of unforeseen
material adverse changes to our business or operations; risks that
the proposed transaction disrupts current plans, operations, and
business growth initiatives; the risk associated with the outcome
of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Tribune and
others in connection with the merger agreement; and other factors
described in Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the
SEC, including the most current annual 10-K and quarterly 10-Q
reports, which contain a discussion of various factors that may
affect Tribune's business or financial results. These factors,
including also the ability to complete the merger, could cause
actual future performance to differ materially from current
expectations. Tribune is not responsible for updating the
information contained in this press release beyond the published
date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or
Internet service providers. DATASOURCE: Tribune Company CONTACT:
Gary Weitman of Tribune Company, +1-312-222-3394, fax,
+1-312-222-1573, Web site: http://www.tribune.com/
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