With all the attention on the possibility of a Dow Jones sale to News Corp., it’s easy to forget that the Tribune Company still has to pass through a number of hoops before the high-profile deal agreed upon in April can close. The shareholder vote about taking the company private is scheduled for August 21. A successful vote is only one of the hoops. The company’s Los Angeles Times does a good job of laying what it will take to close the deal by December.
— Regulatory approval to transfer broadcast licenses (23 TV, 1 radio) and waivers to continue TV-newspaper ownership in five markets: LA, New York, Chicago, Hartford, Ft. Lauderdale. The current political climate makes that more difficult than would have been the case with a Republican-controlled Congress. Add in the debate on media ownership overall and it’s even more iffy.
— The financing must hold despite what the LAT calls “more onerous” borrowing terms.
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