The new owners of Tribune Co. may dangle the Los Angeles Times as bait to lure bidders for its other papers when it exits bankruptcy, expected within weeks, The Post has learned.
With newspaper buyers scarce, the owners could troll with the trophy asset to see if purchasers emerge for the entire newspaper group, according to sources close to the situation, who said it is one of several options being considered.
“The LA Times would be a great lead,” said one banking source.
Potential suitors for the Times have circled in the past. Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad has expressed interest in buying the daily. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has also been on a paper-buying binge lately.
Last year, Tribune sparked talk of a Times sale when it restructured the publishing group, putting all the papers under one umbrella except for the Times, which was kept as a separate entity.
In addition to the Times, Tribune counts the Chicago Tribune, the Hartford Courant and the Baltimore Sun among its nine daily newspapers. The company also operates 23 TV stations, including WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles.
Like other newspaper publishers, Tribune had been struggling with advertising declines and sweeping digital changes before the disastrous leveraged buyout by real-estate tycoon Sam Zell landed the company in bankruptcy in 2008.
“It’s logical to assume they would want to get rid of the newspapers,” said one source familiar with the company. “The LA Times and the Chicago Tribune are very profitable, but everything is going down.”
According to court papers, the value of Tribune’s broadcast business is estimated at $2.85 billion, while the publishing business is valued at just $623 million.
After a bitter, nearly four-year battle, Tribune is set to exit bankruptcy before the end of the year under a reorganization plan that will hand ownership to the company’s creditors.
The biggest creditors — hedge funds Oaktree Capital Management and Angelo, Gordon & Co.; and JPMorgan Chase — have yet to say what they plan to do with the company. They still need approval from the Federal Communications Commission to transfer TV and radio broadcast licenses.
Oaktree, which will be the largest shareholder with a 22 percent stake, is conducting a search for a Tribune CEO.
Two hedge funds that will also have sizable stakes — Angelo, Gordon and Alden Global — over the last few years have been buying papers together, leading some to believe they might have an interest in keeping Tribune’s print properties. But their recent partnership involving the Philadelphia Inquirer might have soured both on the idea, sources said.
The hedge funds, which acquired Philadelphia Media Network for $139 million two years ago, sold the company in April to a group of local investors led by Philadelphia businessman Lewis Katz for just $55 million.
A spokesman for Tribune declined to comment, as did Oaktree. Angelo and Alden did not return calls.