Zell, other former Tribune executives reach $200 million settlement over LBO

(Reuters) - Real estate billionaire Sam Zell and other former officers and directors of Tribune Co have reached a $200 million settlement resolving allegations of fraudulent transactions related to the media company’s disastrous 2007 leveraged buyout.

Marc Kirschner, a litigation trustee representing Tribune creditors, filed the proposed settlement on May 31 with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware. The accord requires court approval, and a hearing is scheduled for July 11.

Roughly 50 defendants, including former Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons, agreed to the settlement, without admitting liability or wrongdoing.

Lawyers for Zell and FitzSimons did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.

Zell took Tribune private in an $8.2 billion buyout in December 2007 that saddled the Chicago-based owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun and WGN superstation with too much debt.

Tribune filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a year later, during the global financial crisis, after advertising revenue tumbled as more readers began getting their news online.

The company later split its broadcasting and newspaper businesses into what are now Tribune Media Co, which is being bought by Nexstar Media Group Inc, and Tribune Publishing Co. Some assets have been sold.

Zell, 77, who also served as Tribune’s chief executive, has called the LBO the “deal from hell.” He is worth $5.6 billion according to Forbes magazine.

Then why did you do it?: Gas-lighting

Kirschner had sought damages for various alleged breaches, including “unlawful” dividends and fraudulent transfers, and has said Tribune officers and directors received more than $107 million from the LBO.

The trustee said the $200 million payout “significantly” exceeds the amount of available insurance, and the defendants will have to split the remainder among themselves.

Kirschner is pursuing other litigation over Tribune.

The bankruptcy case is In re Tribune Media Co, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-bk-13141. The multidistrict Tribune case is In re Tribune Co Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-md-02296.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tribune-settlement/zell-other-former-tribune-executives-reach-200-million-settlement-over-lbo-idUSKCN1TD2GH?

>>6735258

are you doing a nightshift?

>>6735278

This was a MASSIVE cover-up all facilitated by the CFTC, the eveidence was overwhelming and many people made comments on the CFTC's site asking for public comments, I know I was one of them. They took all the evidence and then swept it under the rug. It was/is one of the largest cover-up of financial tyranny EVER.

This article is from 2010 and thy knew it was going on, had the evidence and then declined to move forward.

The third cap is the day that Bin Laden was "captured". When that was announced the reaction in the chart was was habbened….TO THE SECOND. It was a co-ordinated effort byt the Hussein admin using that event as a cover. William Daley, who was hussein's Chief of staff had his hands all over this.

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton Reveals "One Trader" Controls 40% Of Silver Market, As Silver Holdings Of SLV Hit All Time Record

After we reported a week ago that JPMorgan was trying to corner the copper market, many noted this was not surprising, considering the bank's comparable approach in manipulating various other precious metal markets. Naturally, we extrapolated that the main reason why the CFTC continues to refuse to delay implementation of position limits is precisely due to the JP Morgan's need to control commodity pricing precisely due to such manipulative trading practices: "As for the CFTC, we now know why they are so intent on delaying the size limit discussion: after all, any regulation will be forward looking - better let JPM accumulate all commodities it can and distribute these via hidden channels to affiliated subs before the ever so busy Gary Gensler corrupt cronies decide to raise their finger on what is increasingly an ever more blatant market manipulation scheme. At least in this case, JPM will push the price higher unlike what it is doing courtesy of its gold and silver manipulation. However, the PM market (especially Asian accounts) will soon make sure Blythe Masters is looking for a job within 3 months as we predicted a few weeks ago." The only problem with this story is that so far, is that unlike copper, JP Morgan's now legendary paper short in the silver market, long taken for granted by the "less than in mainstream" community, has been persistently ignored by the broader media due to the a lack of concrete evidence. Hopefully that will now change: courtesy of a speech delivered by none other than the CFTC commissioner Bart Chilton, who continues to expose the CFTC and the banker cartel's illegal market manipulation practices, we now have proof that "one trader held over 40 percent of the silver market." As this trader is either JP Morgan directly, or various Blythe Masters proxies, we can only hope that finally the broader outcry against JPM's ongoing attempt to suppress precious metal prices (insert Mike Krieger/Max Keiser "Crush JP Morgan" campaign here) will force the bank to finally unwind its shorts. And if not, perhaps the market speculators will do it for them: as of Friday, the SLV ETF held an absolute record 10,941 tonnes of silver, an increase of 163 tonnes for the week.

What is even more amusing is that the Bart Chilton disclosure came during a speech blasting that other manipulative scourge of the market: High Frequency Trading (it is helpful that over a year after Zero Hedge first recognized HFT as the biggest threat to market stability, subsequently confirmed by the flash crash, now the very CFTC is finally confirming we have been right all along). In an ideal world, there would be an overhaul to both position limit and HFT trading rules. Alas, we live in a world, in which the son of the heretofore biggest known ponzi, Bernie Madoff, has decided to take his own life on the two year anniversary of his father's ignominious collapse. Surely, should the regulators confirm that our own markets are nothing but a massive ponzi, the suicides will be far more pervasive, as all those who "trade the tape" realize they have been following the crowd right over the cliff.

First, here is a snapshot of (alleged) silver holdings in the SLV ETF, which many believe is a direct and indirect attempt by Asian banks to force a massive short covering capitulation by JP Morgan.

https://www.zerohedge.com/article/cftc-commissioner-bart-chilton-reveals-one-trader-controls-40-silver-market-silver-holdings-

JP Morgan: "Operation Silver Slam

http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/592.cfm

there just is not much public information on this so I have to resort to using bix weir's site for moar background. His stuff is solid on this aspect…crypto? not so much.

BTW I knew of much of the stuff he covers at his site but also have learned a few things too.

at least someone paying attention