CHICAGO - NEW REPORT ZELL IS ABOUT TO DEPART TRIBUNE

NEW REPORT ZELL IS ABOUT TO DEPART TRIBUNE

New reports emerged Tuesday that Sam Zell's days at the throne of the Tribune empire are numbered. The New York Post , citing a source familiar with the matter, said that Zell "is ready to walk away from the company." The real-estate developer had controversially used an employee stock ownership plan -- or ESOP -- to finance his takeover of Tribune, whose assets include the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WGN-TV in Chicago, and the Los Angeles Times and KTLA in Los Angeles, among numerous other holdings, including 22 television stations. The ESOP had made employees the company's owners, but now that Tribune is in bankruptcy, it's likely that their shares are worthless, since they are regarded as common shareholders, who must wait behind creditors to be paid off.

19/08/2009