Associated Press
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday granted the Tribune Co. more time to submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
Judge Kevin Carey agreed to extend the period under which Tribune has exclusive rights to file a plan to Feb. 28, with the possibility of a further extension after a mid-February hearing.
Tribune said in its request for an extension that many of the elements of a reorganization plan are in place, but that it needs more time to review issues surrounding the leveraged buyout that took the company private in 2007. The $8.2 billion buyout, which saddled Tribune with massive debt and which some Tribune creditors point to as the root cause of its bankruptcy, is being reviewed by the company, its creditors committee and other parties.
In requesting a third extension of the exclusivity period, Tribune said its goal is to deal with any potential claims stemming from the buyout in its reorganization plan.
But a group of credit agreement lenders who hold more than $4 billion in Tribune debt objected to another extension of time and asked for permission to submit their own reorganization plan focused on Tribune subsidiaries.More…