Tribune Co. may sell itself in parts

By MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:26 AM ET Nov 2, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- After receiving lower-than-expected offers for its entire media and entertainment empire, Tribune Co. has told prospective bidders it will consider selling parts of its business, according to a media report Wednesday.

But the move may be a gambit to obtain a better price for the entire company, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation. See Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).

Chicago-based Tribune Co. (TRB) apparently is ready to consider offers for its individual newspapers, its television stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, The Journal said.

The company, whose current market value is $8.4 billion, publishes the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday in New York and the Hartford, Conn., Courant among its 11 daily newspapers, The Journal said. Three Los Angeles-area billionaires, Ron Burkle, Eli Broad and David Geffen, already have expressed an interest in buying the Times, according to media reports. Other private groups were said by The Journal to be interested in Newsday and the Courant.

Full story here.