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Freedom seeks approval to hire broker for possible sale of Tribune
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Freedom Communications, parent company of the East Valley Tribune, has asked a bankruptcy court judge to allow the company to hire a broker in order to pursue the possible sale of the Tribune and several other Valley publications it owns.
The filing is part of the ongoing proceedings related to Freedom's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing earlier this month to allow a restructuring of the company's debt.
Officials for Freedom, based in Irvine, Calif., would only confirm that the filing seeking a broker took place. A potential buyer was not specified.
In addition to the Tribune, Freedom publishes the Sun City Daily News-Sun, Ahwatukee Foothills News and the Clipper coupon booklet in the Phoenix area. The company also publishes the Yuma Sun.
Freedom's flagship paper is the Orange County Register in California.
"This filing has no impact on our day-to-day operations," said Tribune Publisher Julie Moreno. "The Tribune and the other Phoenix-area properties will continue to serve their communities and advertisers. We have for some time been exploring all strategic options for our Phoenix-area properties and this is a continuation of that effort."
In its bankruptcy filing earlier this month, Freedom listed debts of nearly $1 billion. Much of that was incurred in 2004, when the company bought out some members of the Hoiles family, which has controlled the company since its founding more than 70 years ago. Two outside investor groups financed the buyout.
In recent years, the company has seen a steep decline in advertising revenue and increasing competition from the Internet, as have most newspaper companies across the nation. The situation was made worse by the onset of the latest national recession. As a result, Freedom defaulted on its debt obligations.
The impact was felt in the East Valley, as the Tribune was forced to enact major cuts in its work force, distribution area and publication days this year. The Tribune also went to a free distribution model.
The company reached agreement with 27 lenders, led by major banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase, to assume the debt and take control of the company. The Chapter 11 filing and restructuring was part of that agreement. The company said it expects to emerge from bankruptcy within six months.
Freedom purchased the Tribune and its other Arizona properties in 2000.
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