Chicago real estate tycoon Sam Zell remains committed to taking Tribune Co. (TRB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) private, a source close to the transaction said on Tuesday, countering investor concerns over the deal that have weighed on the U.S. newspaper publisher’s shares, Reuters reports.
Zell’s perspective on Tribune “as an investment and as a company has not changed,” said the source, who requested anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak for Zell.
Tribune shares fell to $24.46, their lowest level in nearly nine years, on Tuesday before the remarks about Zell. That was well below the $34 a share that investors will receive when the company goes private in deal with a total value of $8.2 billion. The shares regained ground to trade 1 percent lower at $25.49 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Investors have pushed down the stock ahead of a shareholder vote on the deal scheduled for next Tuesday, fearing that the company’s worsening performance and a crunch in the wider credit market could endanger the buyout.
