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Tribune to Sell WLVI-TV, Boston
$113
Million Sale Continues Company’s Performance Improvement
Plan
CHICAGO, September
14, 2006 -- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB)
today announced the sale of WLVI-TV (channel 56), Boston,
to Sunbeam Television Corp. for $113.7 million. The transaction
is contingent upon approval by Tribune’s board of directors
and would close upon regulatory approval.
"This sale reflects our continued focus
on surfacing value for Tribune shareholders," said
Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman and chief executive officer.
The sale of WLVI is part of Tribune’s
performance improvement plan announced
May 30. The plan includes at least $500 million in asset
sales and approximately
$420 million have been identified so far. On Aug. 7, Tribune
completed the sale of WATL-TV in Atlanta for $180 million
in cash. In July, Tribune sold 2.8 million shares
of Time Warner common stock for net proceeds of approximately
$46 million. In June, the company announced the sale of WCWN-TV
in Albany for $17 million. Bids are now being reviewed for
the San Fernando property where a Los Angeles Times printing
facility was closed earlier this year.
Tribune acquired WLVI in 1994 from Gannett
Co., Inc., for approximately $25 million. The station will
be Sunbeam’s
second in the Boston market, where it currently owns and
operates WHDH-TV, the local NBC affiliate.
"As an affiliate of the new CW
Network, WLVI has a great future," said John Reardon,
Tribune Broadcasting president. "With the first and
longest running prime-time news serving Boston viewers,
the station’s
excellence has been widely recognized locally and throughout
the New England broadcasting community. Vinnie Manzi and
the entire team at WLVI have built a strong station and
we appreciate their accomplishments and dedication."
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TRIBUNE (NYSE:TRB)
is one of the country’s top media companies, operating businesses
in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It reaches
more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only
media organization with newspapers, television stations
and websites in the nation’s top three markets. In
publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include
the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island,
N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel,
Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company’s
broadcasting group operates 25 television stations, Superstation
WGN on national cable, Chicago’s WGN-AM and the Chicago
Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites
complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties
and extend the company’s nationwide audience.
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