The Tribune Company did not file a new reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court Friday as planned.
“Since last week, we have been involved in discussions with our various creditor constituencies about our restructuring plan,” CEO Randy Michaels and COO Gerry Spector wrote in an email to the media giant’s employees Friday afternoon. “Given the ongoing nature of those discussions, we have decided not to file any amendments to our plan at the present time. We’ll continue to keep you aware of developments in the Chapter 11 process as we go forward.”
Attempts by TheWrap to reach JPMorgan Chase and investment firm Angelo, Gordon & Co., two of the major creditors in the case, were not returned immediately.
After negotiations over the last potential reorganization plan fell apart on Aug. 20, the company — which owns the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, 23 TV stations and more — announced it would be submitting a new plan to the Delaware court Friday.
On Thursday, in its 2010 Financial Highlights announcement, the company said it was “making solid financial progress,” had seen broadcast revenues and consolidate operating cash flow rise, and had $1.6 billion in cash on hand.
“We're really just getting started,” CEO Michaels claimed.
As rumors swirled that former Disney CEO Michael Eisner was being headhunted to take over Tribune, lawyers for the company and major creditors met briefly in Wilmington. Neither side made a statement.
Tribune has been in bankruptcy court with an ongoing Chapter 11 case for more than 20 months. Recently, investigators have found what they call “dishonesty” in the 2007 $8.2 billion leveraged buyout by present chairman Sam Zell of the company.
