Tribune Media hires advisers to examine options

Tribune Media, one of the best-known media owners in the US, has hired Wall Street advisers to examine options for the company less than two years after spinning off its newspaper business.

Bruce Karsh, chairman of the board of directors, said in a statement on Monday:

The Board of Directors and management remain focused on maximizing shareholder value. We believe that the value of the portfolio of businesses of Tribune Media is not fully reflected in the stock price and intend to explore ways to unlock value by reviewing strategic alternatives.

The company, whose share price has slumped nearly 53 per cent over the past 12 months, said it has retained Moelis & Co. and Guggenheim Securities as financial advisors to carry out the strategic review. Among the moves being considered are “the sale or separation of select lines of business or assets, strategic partnerships, programming alliances and return of capital initiative.”

Tribune Media shed its publishing business – home to papers such as the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune – through a spinoff just 18 months ago. Six months ago, it announced plans to sell some of its real estate holdings, including the iconic Tribune tower in Chicago.

The review came alongside Tribune reporting an operating loss of $382.2m for the fourth quarter. That waswas largely due to a $381m impairment charge related to the writedown of the goodwill value of its cable reporting unit.

Operating revenue for the quarter fell 1 per cent to $547.6m, with revenue at its core television and entertainment unit hit by a fall in political advertising revenue due to 2015 being an off-cycle political year.

Yet despite its woes, Tribune Media has maintained its dividend policy and authorised a new stock buyback programme that could see the company repurchase up to $400m of its own stock.