After the Tribune Company filed its fifth request for an extension to file a bankruptcy reorganization plan without interference, some of the company’s biggest creditors complained that it was unfair to be given only three business days to object to the company’s extension request.
Citing “serious concerns” about the extension, the lenders said Tribune was trying to force them to “shoot in the dark” by not explaining the status of the alleged ongoing “substantial negotiations” it cited as a need for requesting the extension.
The lenders said they do not object to the proposed April 13 hearing on the extension. But they said they should have three business days after Tribune makes proposed “supplemental filings” with the court before they lodge objections — even if this means they could object at any time prior to the hearing.
The bankrupt publisher cited confidentiality concerns as the reason why they would not discuss the status of the negations and said that the negotiations were part of their efforts to resolve claims arising out of its $8.2 billion leveraged buyout in 2007 by real estate developer Sam Zell, and to avoid potential “extreme costs of protracted litigation” during their Chapter 11 bankruptcy. If the extension is approved by the bankruptcy court it will give the Tribune Co. another 30 days to exclusively propose a bankruptcy reorganization plan. However, it is not certain that the company will be granted the extension given the number of times it has already extended the exclusivity period during this bankruptcy case.
The Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection December 2008 due to rising debt, falling revenue and an extremely tight credit market.