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Sam Zell
What Was Carl Quintanilla Driving At When He Said Interviewing Sam Zell Is “Like Riding A Mechanical Bull”?
By Bess Levin
Sam Zell got himself in a bit of a pickle the other day, for the grave offense of wearing jeans (Jeans! They’re for peasants!) to the Union League Club. Because of his choice of pants, Zell, who was coming to give a lecture on the outlook of real estate, was barred from entering. Organizers thankfully came to the rescue, wrapping a “borrowed camel-hair dress coat” around his shoulders (how did that help the jean situation?), a trick that somehow worked wonders. Zell was able to give his lecture, said everything sucks and everyone went home happy, especially those in the audience who got a look at Zell’s chest hair.
Can you think of a business you would prefer to be in less than newspapers? CDO marketing perhaps, but its a close tie, no? So the news that Tribune is making Chapter 11 noises comes as: a) No Surprise; b) Some Surprise; c) What Do You Mean, I Just Bought Stock.
Sam Zell looks rather glum in his hedcut next to the article bearing the news along with the hint that Sidney Austin has been retained to advise Tribune on bankruptcy, having already acquired Lazard as restructuring adviser.
The violation of covenants appear near, and the company has a $512 million debt payment due in June. Ouch. Better hurry up with that Cubs sale, Zell.
Tribune Co. Taps Lazard,Weighs Filing for Chapter 11 [The Wall Street Journal]
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