Tribune Hires Merrill, Citigroup as Advisors

Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, hired Merrill Lynch & Co. and Citigroup Inc. as financial advisors to help the company explore strategies to boost shareholder value.

The focus will be on finding the best option for “the company and its publishing and broadcast groups as a whole, before evaluating strategic alternatives for individual business units,” Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons said in a statement.

In other news, Tribune shareholders dropped a suit claiming that directors failed to maximize share value after a federal judge spotted a defect in the case.