Tribune Company Emerges from Bankruptcy

CHICAGO: Four years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Tribune Company has successfully emerged from its restructuring process, with a new board in place that includes Peter Liguori.

“Tribune emerges from the bankruptcy process as a multimedia company with a great mix of profitable assets, strong brands in major markets and a much-improved capital structure,” said Eddy Hartenstein, Tribune’s CEO. “The company’s greatest asset, however, is its employees who, individually and collectively, have remained focused on serving our viewers, readers, advertisers and communities with a single-minded sense of purpose and dedication. I want to thank all our employees for their talent and effort throughout this four-year process.”

The new board, which will hold its first meeting in the next several weeks, includes Liguori, a former News Corp. and Discovery Communications executive; Peter Murphy, a veteran of The Walt Disney Company; and Ross Levinsohn, the former interim CEO of Yahoo. Other board members are Bruce Karsh and Ken Liang of Oaktree Capital Management, which now owns a large stake in the company, and entertainment lawyer Craig Jacobson. Tribune’s current CEO, Hartenstein, is also on the board. When the board meets in the weeks to come it will define the roles of its members, its committee structure and put in place new executive officers. Hartenstein will remain in the CEO post until that time.