The Tribune Company has hired investment bankers to pursue a sale of its top newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook on Tuesday.
The media company, which emerged from bankruptcy late last year, has hired JPMorgan Chase and Evercore Partners to run the process, this person said.
Tribune’s move comes as little surprise. Speculation has been swirling around the media industry for some time that a number of potential suitors had emergedfor the company’s holdings, a lot that may include the News Corporation.
Peter Liguori, Tribune’s recently appointed chief executive, told The Los Angeles Times last month that he had not ruled out a sale of the company’s newspaper brands but added that he isn’t “going into this job with a fire-sale sign.â€
News of the bankers’ hirings was reported earlier by CNBC.
