Hell for Zell: The Bankruptcy of Tribune Company


Hell for Zell: The Bankruptcy of Tribune Company
Case Code: BSTR317
Case Length: 19 Pages
Period: 2000-2009
Pub Date: 2009
Teaching Note: Not Available
Price: Rs.300
Organization: Tribune Company
Industry: Newspapers
Countries: USA
Themes: Failure of Strategy, Bankruptcy
Hell for Zell: The Bankruptcy of Tribune Company
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts

"I don't think that I ever woke up in the morning and said, 'I want to own a newspaper.' I think that the attraction to the Tribune deal was the ability to put the deal together, to apply a business patina to what has historically been a non-business business, and ultimately test the thesis as to whether or not there is a place for the newspaper in the 21st century."

-Sam Zell, Chairman and CEO, Tribune Company in 2008.

"Timing is everything. He (Sam Zell) timed when to get out of real estate at the perfect time, and he probably timed when to get into newspapers at the worst time. But how can you know?"

-John Morton, President of Morton Research Inc, a media consulting group in 2008.

Introduction

On December 8, 2008, the Tribune Company (Tribune), a major US media conglomerate with several newspapers and TV stations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company's Chairman and CEO, Sam Zell (Zell), said that he had been compelled to take this step after plummeting cash flows had left the company in a precarious financial position. Zell stated that he wanted to restructure payments to some lenders, but they had refused to undertake a broader restructuring of the debt, leaving him with no option but to file for bankruptcy protection. However, he stated that the company had enough funds to continue day-to-day operations, while it formulated a restructuring plan to be submitted to the bankruptcy court, within 180 days...

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