Business & Tech

Tronc, Owner Of Chicago Tribune, To Buy Chicago-Sun Times

UPDATED: The Sun-Times would continue to have an "independent voice," said tronc's CEO.

CHICAGO, IL — The parent company of the Chicago Tribune, tronc, has made a bid to buy the Chicago Sun-Times, but it must first navigate an antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Despite the potential sale, the Sun-Times would continue to have an independent newsroom under tronc, according to a release by the prospective buyer on Monday concerning the purchase.

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“If we successfully close, we will be pleased to have the Chicago Sun-Times join our existing family of strong brands and help it maintain its independent voice,” tronc CEO and director Justin Dearborn said in a statement Monday.

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The announcement by tronc comes a day before Wrapports, the parent company of the Sun-Times, will publish a full-page ad giving notice that the daily newspaper was on the selling block. The notice — announcing a search for "new ownership that will commit to preserving the Sun-Times as an independent news source in the city of Chicago," according to a release by Wrapports — is being published at the direction of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, which is investigating the sale.

RELATED: Tribune To Buy SouthtownStar, Other Sun-Times Media Suburban Newspapers

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If there are no other bidders for the Sun-Times after 15 days, tronc — which also owns the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun — will become the new owners of the Chicago daily tabloid, as well as the alt-weekly Chicago Reader and syndicated column The Straight Dope. A potential sale could become final as soon as June 1, according to tronc's statement. Officials from both companies would not disclose the terms of the deal.

Dearborn told Crain's Chicago Business that he expects the Justice Department to sign off on the sale if no other bidder comes forward. Talks about the deal began earlier this year when Wrapports management approached tronc officials, tronc said in its statement. Both parties also looped in the Justice Department as a sign of good faith that the sale would be "the best way to preserve multiple editorial voices in the greater Chicago area," the statement added.

In advance of the publication of Tuesday's full-page ad, Jim Kirk, Sun-Times publisher and editor in chief, asked for "feedback" about the potential sale "from those, like us, who hold this institution near and dear to their heart" in an note published Monday evening on the publication's website:

"The Sun-Times, like many other metropolitan news operations, continues to face enormous challenges in an industry roiled by changes in the marketplace. The investors and board members of Wrapports have been committed to keeping a second media voice in Chicago alive and thriving. Success in digital media requires a national platform that can make significant investments across products and services. We believe an ownership that can bring substantial digital resources can help and is the best path for the Sun-Times to succeed long term."

RELATED: Tribune Media Sold To Sinclair Broadcast Group For $3.9 Billion

This isn't the first sales transaction between Wrapports and the company that's now tronc. In 2014, tronc — then known as Tribune Publishing — purchased the SouthtownStar and Sun-Times Media’s remaining suburban newspapers.

The potential sale of the Sun-Times marks the second big potential media deal in Chicago this month. Last week, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced it was buying Tribune Media, which owns WGN-TV and WGN Radio, for $3.9 billion. Until 2014, the publishing division of Tribune Media had been the home of what is now tronc.

UPDATED (8:59 p.m. Monday, May 15)


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