Tribune Co. shareholders approved an $8.2 billion deal Tuesday to take the media company private, but deep concerns remain about the debt-laden deal as credit markets continue to be jittery, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Tribune said a preliminary vote tally showed investors voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal, which is valued at $34 a share. Roughly 97% of investor votes in hand supported the complex buyout led by real estate mogul Sam Zell.

The vote was scarcely in doubt. The question dogging the privatization for months is whether the deal, which is being financed by more than $8 billion in loans, can get done as investors shy away from credit risk. Tribune had to make compromises to finance a first stage of the deal, and the company must take on $4.2 billion more debt to finish the buyout. Concerns have arisen whether Tribune may be forced to drop or renegotiate the deal.

Reflecting the doubts about the deal, a yawning gap has opened between the market price of Tribune shares and the value of the deal. That spread has retreated somewhat in recent days but remains more than 20% off the deal price — one of the largest spreads among pending buyouts. Tribune shares were up 3% in morning trading to $27.84.

Tribune has said it believes the deal will close in the fourth quarter and that financing for the deal is fully committed. Debt financing is being provided by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.

Mr. Zell largely has been quiet on the health of the offer, but a person close to him said last week that his view on the deal’s merits hasn’t changed. Mr. Zell wasn’t at the meeting in Chicago for a vote on the deal, Tribune said.

Read the full Wall Street Journal story

.(registration required)