U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey has rejected two competing plans for reorganizing Tribune Company, reports The Los Angeles Times, leaving the company stuck in bankruptcy for the foreseeable future. Tribune owns The Los Angeles Times and other newspapers, along with 23 TV stations.
Tribune entered bankruptcy in Dec. 2008.
One reorg plan came from Tribune itself, along with a group of senior creditors, including Oaktree Capital Management and JPMorgan Chase.
A second plan came from Aurelius Capital Management and a cadre of junior bondholders.
Carey found neither viable, and threatened to appoint a bankruptcy trustee to resolve the case if Tribune and its creditors don't come up with a workable solution soon, says the Times.
"The debtors must promptly find an exit door to this Chapter 11 proceeding," Carey wrote in his opinion.
Tribune has thus far been billed $305 million in legal and professional fees as a result of its Chapter 11 protection, notes the Times, and that figure will continue to grow.
