Top Tribune executives Sam Zell and Randy Michaels were very pleased with a restructuring plan that they say would get the company out of Chapter 11 before year’s end. But several senior creditors don’t see it that way at all and want to file an alternative plan.
The dissidents include Oaktree Capital Management, Goldman Sachs Loan Partners and Marathon Asset Management. They said the deal is “dead on arrival.” The members of the group say they provided about 42% of the money to effectuate Zell’s 2007 to acquire the company, or $3.6B, and will be left holding the bag while Zell and others get off for free, losing $400M in value to others.
The group claimed, “This is a settlement made possible with ‘other people’s money.’”
Under the plan, JPMorgan Chase and Angelo, Gordon & Co. would wind up with 91.2% of the company’s value, and that 7.4% would go to junior noteholders led by Centerbridge Partners.
