Summary
Chicagoan Sam Zell, a billionaire entrepreneur, is probably best known for his massive real estate holdings. In 2007, he sold his publicly traded US office portfolioEquity Office Properties Trustfor $39 billion in what was then considered the largest private equity transaction ever. A self-described "professional opportunist," he also has invested in companies around the world with holdings as varied as supermarkets, wineries, barges and compressors for the energy industry.
Ultimately, "I'm a capital markets person," he has said. In 2007, Zell led a transaction to take Tribune Co. private with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in a deal valued at $8.2 billion. Zell is the chairman of five public com...
Ultimately, "I'm a capital markets person," he has said. In 2007, Zell led a transaction to take Tribune Co. private with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in a deal valued at $8.2 billion. Zell is the chairman of five public com...
Chicagoan Sam Zell, a billionaire entrepreneur, is probably best known for his massive real estate holdings. In 2007, he sold his publicly traded US office portfolioEquity Office Properties Trustfor $39 billion in what was then considered the largest private equity transaction ever. A self-described "professional opportunist," he also has invested in companies around the world with holdings as varied as supermarkets, wineries, barges and compressors for the energy industry.
Ultimately, "I'm a capital markets person," he has said. In 2007, Zell led a transaction to take Tribune Co. private with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in a deal valued at $8.2 billion. Zell is the chairman of five public companies and was positioned in late 2007 to become chairman of Tribune, with its roster of newspapers, radio and television stations. In the 1960s, while a student at the University of Michigan where he eventually earned a law degree, Zell started his real estate career managing southeast Michigan apartment buildings. Over time, he invested and diversified. "Generally, we like simple themes and real assets," he said. "It gives us something to work with, unlike the dot-coms. When they got into trouble, there were no assets there." During the real estate recession of the 1990s, he was a key force in transforming the nation's property industry from an idiosyncratic business with opaque finances to the much sought-after, publicly traded core asset class of recent years. As he scans investment opportunities, what matters most to him is effective management. "An average company with good management can be fine," he said. "A good company with lousy management won't succeed." Not conventionally buttoned-down, Zell tends to tread his own path. In his early business career, he shed the requisite suit and tie for jeans and sweaters. He is an avid skier, racquetball player and motorcyclist.
Ultimately, "I'm a capital markets person," he has said. In 2007, Zell led a transaction to take Tribune Co. private with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in a deal valued at $8.2 billion. Zell is the chairman of five public companies and was positioned in late 2007 to become chairman of Tribune, with its roster of newspapers, radio and television stations. In the 1960s, while a student at the University of Michigan where he eventually earned a law degree, Zell started his real estate career managing southeast Michigan apartment buildings. Over time, he invested and diversified. "Generally, we like simple themes and real assets," he said. "It gives us something to work with, unlike the dot-coms. When they got into trouble, there were no assets there." During the real estate recession of the 1990s, he was a key force in transforming the nation's property industry from an idiosyncratic business with opaque finances to the much sought-after, publicly traded core asset class of recent years. As he scans investment opportunities, what matters most to him is effective management. "An average company with good management can be fine," he said. "A good company with lousy management won't succeed." Not conventionally buttoned-down, Zell tends to tread his own path. In his early business career, he shed the requisite suit and tie for jeans and sweaters. He is an avid skier, racquetball player and motorcyclist.
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Deal to let Tribune draw against $300 million in future assets
Tribune reporterTribune Co. said Friday that it signed a $300 million asset-backed commercial paper facility with Barclay's Bank PLC, in essence raising cash against future trade receivables due to the company. The debt-heavy Chicago media concern, which went private...Tags: Tribune Company
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Los Angeles Times to Cut 250 Jobs
Los Angeles TimesLOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday announced plans to cut 250 positions across the company, including 150 positions in editorial, in a new effort to bring expenses into line with declining revenue. In a further cost-cutting step, the paper...Tags: Wrigley Field, Newspaper and Magazine, Unemployment, Washington Post Company, Major League Baseball
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Lifeline for biotech
Sun reportersAfter eight years of struggling to make a success out of MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals, chief executive and founder Edward M. Rudnic agreed to step down after a management shake-up and a $100 million investment from a private Chicago investment firm. It's...Tags: Medicine, Corporate Officers, Sales, Trials, Health Organizations
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When old scripts get rewritten
So NBC is driving "Knight Rider" into the era of $4-a-gallon gas, The CW is updating "Beverly Hills, 90210" and ABC is toying with a revival of the short-lived dramedy "Cupid" in hopes viewers will fall in love this time. Coming off a writers strike that...Tags: Newspaper and Magazine, CBS Corp., Mary Tyler Moore, NBC, Los Angeles
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Newspapers, reeling from slumping ads, slash jobs
AP Business WriterEven for an industry awash in bad news, the newspaper business went through one of its most severe retrenchments in recent memory last week. Half a dozen newspapers said they would slash payrolls, one said it would outsource all its printing, and...Tags: Chicago Real Estate, Long Island, New York Times, Baseball, Freedom of the Press
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GM of WGN America to depart
Tribune media columnistBill Shaw, vice president and general manager of Tribune Co.'s WGN America since 2002, told staff of the national cable channel today that he plans to leave the company, effective Aug. 1. No successor was named. Tribune Co. Chairman and Chief...Tags: Corporate Officers, Sales, National Government, Major League Baseball, Baseball
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Much has changed around the Los Angeles Times Building
Los Angeles Times Staff WriterThere was a time when the Los Angeles Times' presence in downtown Los Angeles was a symbol of the possibilities of a burgeoning city. -------------------- FOR THE RECORD: Standard Hotel: A list in Friday's California section, with an article about the...Tags: Tribune Company, Joan Didion, Times Mirror Square, Newspaper and Magazine, Olvera Street
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Act now; Cubs are standing by
Why should public broadcasters be the only ones allowed to pester their audience for support? It was Guy Caballero, the fictional boss of faux network SCTV, who in 1981 advanced the revolutionary revenue idea: Pledge breaks for everyone. "Just because...Tags: Wrigley Field, All Stars, Multi-Sport Events, Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball
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Tribune Troubles Underlie Courant Crunch
Media giant Tribune Co. has found itself trying to wage a war on two fronts. And the struggle is starting to take its toll. Even the healthiest U.S. newspaper companies are battling declining circulation and advertising revenue. The same is true at...Tags: Wrigley Field, Newspaper and Magazine, Auction Service, Washington Post Company, Real Estate Buyers
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Gremillion to oversee Chicago Tribune on interim basis
Tribune media columnistBob Gremillion, Tribune Co.'s publishing group executive vice president, will assume temporary oversight of the Chicago Tribune beginning next week. Chicago Tribune Publisher Scott C. Smith earlier this month announced his retirement after more than 30...Tags: Tribune Company, Florida, Corporate Officers, Connecticut, Newspapers
Jul 3, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
Jul 2, 2008
|Story| KTLA-TV
Jul 3, 2008
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Jul 2, 2008
|Column| Chicago Tribune
Jun 29, 2008
|Story| Associated Press
Jul 1, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
Jun 27, 2008
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Jun 29, 2008
|Column| Chicago Tribune
Jun 29, 2008
|Story| Hartford Courant
Jun 27, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
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