Zell

Real estate mogul Sam Zell's jump to the head of the pack in the auction for Tribune Co. has led Los Angeles billionaires Ron Burkle and Eli Broad to protest that their earlier offer was given short shrift. The partners said in a letter to Tribune over the weekend that they should have been given access to the same information that helped Zell draft an offer that relied on forming a new employee stock ownership plan in an attempt to acquire the media company in a tax-efficient manner.

What kind of a news baron would Sam Zell make? With Tribune Co. seriously considering the Chicago real estate billionaire's buyout offer, it's no idle question. Besides amassing the nation's largest collection of office buildings in his Equity Office Properties Trust -- which was sold last month to Blackstone Group for $23 billion -- Zell, 65, has a long history with smokestack industries, having invested in makers of bicycles, barges, mattresses and airplane rivets.

Sam Zell, a Chicago real estate magnate who made a fortune by turning around distressed properties, has emerged as a strong contender to buy the company that owns the Los Angeles Times, KTLA-TV Channel 5 and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, according to people familiar with ongoing negotiations. Zell's bid for Tribune Co.

Several former and current Los Angeles Times employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the newspaper's corporate parent, Tribune Co., and its chief executive, Sam Zell, contending that reckless management is destroying the value of the company. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that Zell and former Tribune CEO Dennis J. FitzSimons devised a plan to take the company private to enrich themselves to the detriment of employees. The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of employees of The Times and Tribune.

Sam Zell's plan to keep Tribune Co. intact faces steep regulatory hurdles. Federal law prevents a company from owning a television station and a newspaper in the same market. Tribune owns both in five markets: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Hartford, Conn., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The federal licenses for some of the TV stations are expiring, meaning the issue is coming to a head just as Tribune is being sold.

The Zell/Chilmark Fund on Monday pushed back to Oct. 1 the deadline for acceptance of its bid for Carter Hawley Hale Stores, giving reluctant Carter Hawley creditors more time to contemplate the offer. The extension of the bid, which had been scheduled to expire Monday, was linked with bankruptcy court approval of a $50-million store modernization loan plus assurance that the fund will be granted the same rights as current creditors if its $240-million offer is approved.

On his first day in charge of Tribune Co., Sam Zell set an ambitious goal: Sell the Chicago Cubs by opening day. The Cubs, one of baseball's most storied yet least successful clubs, are expected to command a record sale price for a major league team. If Tribune were to package the team with venerable Wrigley Field and the Cubs' stake in Chicago's cable sports channel, the price could exceed $1 billion, two sports finance experts said Thursday.

In the biggest radio deal of the year and one that offers a preview of changes to come in the industry, Jacor Communications Inc. agreed Tuesday to buy Citicasters Inc. for $770 million. It would make the Sam Zell-controlled company the owner of the largest group of stations in the country. The deal is the biggest broadcasting transaction to be announced since President Clinton signed the telecommunications reform bill last week.

Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell has become the leading suitor for Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times and KTLA Channel 5, with an $8-billion bid for a company buffeted by new-media challengers, a person familiar with the talks said. Investment bankers are working to strike a deal, but many details remain to be ironed out. The company may not be able to meet its self-imposed deadline to conclude deliberations by the end of the month, the person said.

As he became chairman and chief executive of Tribune Co. on Thursday, Sam Zell promised to jettison the company's centralized, top-down management culture and spin power out to its various media properties, including the Los Angeles Times. Zell's arrival raised hopes among employees and community leaders in Southern California for renewed growth and an end to the staff cuts and declining circulation that have plagued The Times for several years.