CARLYLE GROUP LOOKS TO BUY MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS [View All]

Carlyle Group reportedly among possible bidders for Tribune Co.
Washington Business Journal - 2:58 PM EDT Monday

The Tribune Co., the embattled publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, is mulling an outright sale of the company, asking private-equity firms, including one based in Washington, to submit nonbinding indications of interest by the end of the month, according to a Monday report from The Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, three groups have emerged as possible bidders:

? D.C.-based Carlyle Group;
? Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, and Apollo Management;
? Thomas H. Lee Partners and Texas Pacific Group.

At the moment, it is unclear whether Carlyle would bid alone or join with a group of buyers.

The report said that some bidders think the Chandler family, the largest shareholder in Tribune after the purchase of Los Angeles' Times Mirror in 2000, would accept a per-share buyout bid in the mid-$30s.

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2006/10/23/daily12.html