Who will bid for Tribune? Perhaps nobody...

With deadline nearing for this week's auction of the second-largest US newspaper group, Tribune, it has become apparent that there is a lack of interest. No bidder has come forward to buy the company that owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, nine more titles, 25 television networks and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. It not only reflects the uncertainty about newspapers' valuations. There is also a heavy tax burden if the group is split into regional clusters, as well as investor concerns about rules restricting cross-media ownership. Potential bidders for some of the group include private equity investors; groups of shareholders, including the Chandler family that originally owned the LA Times; and a number of California billionaires. (Via FT.com)