Zell to entertain offers for Tribune Tower, L.A. Times building

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Sam Zell, the real estate mogul who runs the Tribune Company, put out this stunner this morning: he’s willing entertain offers for the company’s prize real estate holdings, which include the Tribune Tower in Chicago and the Times Mirror Square complex here in Los Angeles (pictured), which many know as the Los Angeles Times building.

Here’s how Thomas Mulligan is covering the story for the L.A. Times: ‘Tribune Co. is putting two of its most historic properties -- the L.A. Times building and Tribune Tower in Chicago -- on the block.’

This from an e-mail Sam sent to me personally, as well as every other Tribune employee: ‘... we are in the process of asking a number of real estate firms to give us their best thinking on how we can generate more value from Tribune Tower in Chicago, and the Times Mirror Square complex in Los Angeles.’

More: ‘We’ll be considering numerous options to maximize the value of these properties. While a near-term transaction is possible, we’ll be focusing on opportunities that allow for some level of ongoing occupancy in both buildings for the mid-term (defined as five years), for farther out (15 years), and beyond.

‘Most importantly, we are not rushing this process, and I can assure you we will not accept anything but full market value for these assets. As we made clear on our first quarter earnings call, Tribune has sufficient liquidity to satisfy our principal amortization requirements through 2008, due to the proceeds we will realize from the Newsday transaction, and from our plans to create an asset-backed commercial paper program.

‘Our request for proposals, which is being issued today, is likely to generate media attention and debate about what we should or should not do with the properties. Both Tribune Tower and Times Mirror Square are iconic structures, deeply intertwined with the history of this company. But, they are also both under-utilized, and as employee-owners, it’s in our best interests to maximize the value of all our assets.’

Your thoughts? Comment? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.