Report: Bid for Bankrupt 'Sun-Times' Parent Near

By: E&P Staff A white knight has emerged for the bankrupt parent of the Chicago Sun-Times, the rival Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Citing unnamed sources, reporters Julie Johnsson and Michael Oneal reported that "within days" Sun-Times Media Group (STMG) will file a plan with Bankruptcy Court outlining a sale of the chain to an investors group assembled by Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc. Chairman Jim Tyree.

Tyree's group would bid for the publisher under a so-called Section 636 sale for the "good" assets of STMG, but not its debts, which include a possible $600 million tax liability.

The Tribune reported Tyree's bid is contingent on "significant labor concessions," including possibly making permanent a 15% wage cut union employees agreed to earlier this year. At the time, the understanding was that the cut was to be eliminated on the sale of STMG.

There is increasing urgency to getting a sale done, as STMG continues to burn through its cash. According to Bankruptcy Court filings, the company burned thro9ugh another $3.8 million in July, leaving it with only $19.3 million on hand.