Tribune Publishing finally ready to accept first round of buyout bids

Newspaper giant Tribune Publishing has finally put its lengthy, floundering sale process on the clock.

The Chicago-based company formerly known as Tronc — which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and the struggling New York Daily News — has asked suitors to submit first-round buyout bids by Thursday, The Post has learned exclusively.

Tribune, which has hired investment bank Lazard to run an auction, had been hoping in recent weeks to reach a deal to sell itself to the McClatchy family, owners of the Miami Herald and Kansas City Star, which initially appeared to have the backing of billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.

But Soon-Shiong — who acquired the Los Angeles Times in a $500 million deal this summer — now appears to have backed out of adding new cash to the deal. But he still seems to be willing to roll his 25 percent equity stake in Tribune that’s worth $150 million into a combined Tribune-McClatchy entity, according to people close to the situation.

“He seems to change his mind every day,” a source said of Soon-Shiong.

Despite Soon-Shiong’s reluctance to add more cash, sources said McClatchy is still in the running for Tribune. Apollo Global Management, the buyout firm headed by billionaire Leon Black, is still on board as a lender to McClatchy’s bid, insiders said.

Chatham Asset Management is likewise willing to roll its $300 million-plus debt into equity into a new combined Tribune Publishing-McClatchy entity, sources said.

McClatchy, which is still saddled with nearly $700 million in debt from its buyout of Knight Ridder a dozen years ago, does not have money of its own to make an offer.

Now, Tribune hopes to test the market to see how much interest there is in the newspaper industry for big-city titles and is hoping it lands at least three to four bids, according to a source close to the process.

Tribune’s stock rose 2.9 percent Tuesday, closing at $14.88, with a $528 million market cap.

Michael Sacks’ Chicago-based GCM Grosvenor is still doing due diligence in advance of a possible bid. And there is a rumor that onetime Sun-Times CEO Jeremy Halbreich, who now runs AIM Media, owner of small Texas papers, could make a return to the Windy City.

Will Wyatt, the former Starboard Value manager who recently formed the Donerail Group, is still eyeing Tribune and has a mystery backer, sources said. Yesterday, executives from Donerail were reportedly touring the Baltimore Sun printing plant as part of their due diligence.

The curious behavior of Soon-Shiong, the self-proclaimed richest man in LA, is making people wonder about his true wealth. He had earlier expressed a willingness to contribute up to $150 million in equity to back McClatchy.

Soon-Shiong dragged his feet on his first and only media deal on the LA Times and San Diego Union­-Tribune in June.

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