Tribune Co. has accepted a buyout offer from real estate investor Sam Zell in a deal valued at $34 a share or about $8.2 billion, the media company said today.
Zell plans to invest $315 million in the deal for the Chicago-based media company and also plans to sell the Chicago Cubs at the end of this baseball season.
Zell will eventually become chairman of Tribune's board when the deal is complete sometime in the fourth quarter.
Tribune said the buyout will be conducted as a two-part deal. The first stage, expected to be completed in the second quarter, will involve a cash tender offer of $34 a share for 126 million shares, more than half of the outstanding Tribune shares. The remaining shares will be purchased later at the same $34 a share price.