On Dec 9, 2008, at 10:36 AM, 1618.cliff at gmail.com wrote:
> Can any LBO talker make sense of this for me and others? How can one
> finance the purchase of an entire company with (apparently) not much
> more than the future value of the company's pension plan assets? And
> aren't those assets really obligations in any case? How can one own
> a majority stake in a company and not own any shares? It's enough to
> make my head explode... I can only imagine how Tribune employees
> feel... maybe they could take a cue from the Republic Windows and
> Doors workers around the corner and seize the presses.
If you can get people to agree to a deal, nearly anything is possible. The employees probably felt the company was circling the drain and had little to lose. Zell had a rep as a turnaround artist and dealmaker.