As Tribune Co. shareholders prepare to convene in Chicago on Tuesday to vote on an $8.4-billion buyout led by investor Sam Zell, the noise in the background is Wall Street traders chirping that the deal might never get done — at least as proposed, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Amid one of the most turbulent summers in years for the stock market, Tribune shares have slid steadily and steeply. The stock closed Friday at $25.67, just a few dimes above a multiyear low and 25% below the $34 offering price.

The main reason for the investor skepticism is the heavy debt load that Chicago-based Tribune would be carrying after it went private, plus the continuing decline in advertising revenue and cash flow from the company’s TV stations and newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.

Both Zell and Tribune management have insisted all along that the deal will close on schedule by year-end and at the announced price.

The big discount in the share value reflects a vote of no confidence by speculators known as risk arbitrageurs, who tend to take over trading in a stock from the time a buyout is announced and when it is completed.

Somebody willing to gamble that the deal will close on time could pocket a hefty return, and a few hedge funds apparently have been willing to take that bet. As of June 30, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records, Stark Offshore Management, Perry Corp. and Renaissance Technologies had bought 7.3 million, 4 million and 1.4 million shares, respectively.

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