FitzSimons to Step Down as Tribune Company Chairman and CEO
December 19 2007 - 10:52AM
PR Newswire (US)
CHICAGO, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company
(NYSE:TRB) announced today that Dennis FitzSimons will step down as
chairman and chief executive officer immediately after the company
completes its going-private transaction. FitzSimons will leave the
company at the end of the year. "I am proud to have been part of
Tribune for more than 25 years," said FitzSimons. "The company's
greatest strength has always been the talent and dedication of its
20,000 employees. I thank them for their commitment to serving our
readers, viewers, listeners and advertisers." On April 2, 2007,
Tribune announced its intention to become a private company, owned
100 percent by the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Tribune
ESOP). At that time, Sam Zell made an initial investment of $250
million in the company. He joined Tribune's board of directors in
May. When the transaction closes, his investment in Tribune will
increase to $315 million and he will become chairman of the board.
"Sam Zell is an entrepreneur with a phenomenal track record," added
FitzSimons. "He has made a significant investment in Tribune that
indicates his strong belief in the value of the company's media
assets. It was Sam's creativity, personal commitment and investment
that made this transaction possible." "Dennis FitzSimons has
provided Tribune with outstanding leadership through a challenging
environment," said Zell. "He helped build the company into one of
the nation's premier media businesses, and has been instrumental in
guiding Tribune to the closing of this historic transaction. I wish
him much success in the next phase of his career." TRIBUNE
(NYSE:TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating
businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It reaches
more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media
organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in
the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune's leading
daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune,
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida
Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company's
broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, Superstation
WGN on national cable, Chicago's WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs
baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement
Tribune's print and broadcast properties and extend the company's
nationwide audience. Forward-Looking Statements This press release
contains certain comments or forward-looking statements that are
based largely on the company's current expectations and are subject
to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. You can identify these
and other forward looking statements by the use of such words as
"will," "expect," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "intend,"
"continue," or the negative of such terms, or other comparable
terminology. Forward-looking statements also include the
assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing
statements. Actual results could differ materially from the
expectations expressed in these statements. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ include risks related to the
transactions being consummated; the risk that financing might not
be obtained in a timely manner, without conditions, or at all; the
impact of the substantial indebtedness incurred to finance the
consummation of the merger; the ability to satisfy all closing
conditions in the definitive agreements; difficulties in retaining
employees as a result of the merger agreement; risks of unforeseen
material adverse changes to our business or operations; risks that
the proposed transaction disrupts current plans, operations, and
business growth initiatives; the risk associated with the outcome
of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Tribune and
others in connection with the merger agreement; and other factors
described in Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the
SEC, including the most current annual 10-K and quarterly 10-Q
reports, which contain a discussion of various factors that may
affect Tribune's business or financial results. These factors,
including also the ability to complete the merger, could cause
actual future performance to differ materially from current
expectations. Tribune is not responsible for updating the
information contained in this press release beyond the published
date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or
Internet service providers. DATASOURCE: Tribune Company CONTACT:
Gary Weitman of Tribune Company, +1-312-222-3394, fax,
+1-312-222-1573, Web site: http://www.tribune.com/
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