• by Sara Guaglione , April 19, 2016

Tribune Publishing and Wrapports LLC are allegedly rival publishers in Chicago, but Michael Ferro has brought the competing companies closer together when he became chairman of Tribune.

Over the weekend, Ferro bought Splash, the lifestyle and entertainment insert in the Chicago Sun-Times, owned by Wrapports.

Ferro used to run the Sun-Times as chairman of Wrapports LLC, but he donated his shares to an unspecified “charitable trust” before spending $44.4 million on a controlling stake in Tribune Publishing, to avoid conflicts of interest.

While at the Sun-Times, Ferro launched Splash magazine with editor Susanna Homan in 2012. Last month, Homan resigned and moved to Tribune Publishing to be editor-in-chief and publisher of the Tribune-owned Chicago magazine.

Homan announced Tribune’s acquisition of Splash to her staff Monday, adding that she will continue to serve as editor and publisher of Splash, effective immediately.

In a memo to employees Monday, Homan said she was "excited to be reunited" with Splash.

"After my departure, Wrapports and Tribune Publishing decided that it made strategic sense for me to continue leading the Splash brand," Homan wrote. "This morning, they reached an agreement that moves Splash magazine under the Chicago magazine portfolio."

According to the Chicago Tribune, Homan said Splash will operate as an "editorially independent" sister publication of Chicago magazine.

Homan didn’t indicate to the media that there were any plans to combine the two entities.

According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Wrapports said it sold the Splash business to concentrate on its main Sun-Times newspaper and Chicago Reader alternative weekly.

The Chicago Tribune reports about seven Splash employees are expected to relocate with the publication this week to Chicago magazine's offices.

This isn’t the first time Tribune and Wrapports have built bridges following Ferro’s move. As Publishers Daily reported in March, Tribune Publishing and Wrapports entered into a venture with a third publisher, McClatchy Co., that allows them to share content in areas including sports, politics, and entertainment.