• June 28, 2006

The Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune, announced Tuesday that it purchased about 45 million shares of its own common stock in a "Dutch auction" Monday. The company paid a $32.50 premium per share, in return for a chunk of stock constituting 15 percent of shares not already owned by the company. After the announcement, shares rose 4.9 percent or $1.51 in morning trading. The purchase was made in the face of heated opposition from the wealthy Chandler family, which is currently the company's largest private shareholder, with 12.2 percent of the stock and three dissident members on its 11-member board. The Chandlers say the company is performing poorly, and should be broken up. In the wake of this buyback, he company hopes to buy another 10 million shares on July 12th at the same price, to be followed by another 20 million shares at a later date. Merrill Lynch and Citigroup served as co-managers of this deal. The company has also announced its intention to sell about $500 million of peripheral assets, including two TV stations, to set its finances on a stable footing.

--Erik Sass