Talk Grows of Possible Sale of L.A. Times

Could the Los Angeles Times once again be up for sale?

That question is on the minds of several of the city's richest businessmen, who reaffirmed this week their interest in bidding for the country's fourth-largest daily newspaper.

Billionaire investor Ron Burkle, former Olympics organizer and Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and philanthropist Eli Broad have indicated in recent interviews or in comments to others that they would like to buy The Times or see it in local hands.

"The L.A. Times is a world-class brand," Ueberroth, a financier and former travel entrepreneur, said in an interview this week. "We're always attracted to quality brands."

Though analysts estimate that The Times could sell for about $1 billion, Publisher Jeff Johnson said the paper was not for sale. With about $1 billion in annual sales, the paper accounts for about 18% of Tribune's revenue and about 17% of operating profit.

One deterrent would be the huge tax burden Tribune would incur in an outright sale.

Yet investors and analysts said Tuesday that a rift between the paper's owner, Tribune Co., and its second-largest shareholder, the Chandler family of Los Angeles, had the potential to put The Times in play.

If that happens, the Chandlers could once again act as kingmaker. A clause in the $8-billion agreement by the Chandlers in 2000 to sell the paper's parent, Times Mirror Co., to Tribune gives the family the right to veto a sale of the flagship newspaper.

The Chandlers, who control three of Tribune's 11 board seats, are not pressing for a sale, according to people familiar with their strategy. Nor are they interested in reacquiring The Times should it come up for sale, the sources say.

The boardroom rift centers on Tribune's plan to take on more than $2 billion in new debt to buy back 25% of the company's stock. Tribune is offering to pay $28 to $32.50 a share, but the Chandlers have opposed the buyback, according to recent securities filings. Tribune has said it planned to proceed with the buyback.

That has helped drive up Tribune shares, which closed Tuesday at $31.05, down 60 cents, as investors anticipated a more dramatic restructuring.

"One has to assume that something is going to happen to Tribune," said analyst John Morton of Morton Research Inc. "Once that virus of a major change in the company gets established -- and it's certainly been established in Tribune -- it's very hard to get rid of it."