Ron Burkle

Ron Burkle Donates $50,000 to Celebrity Apprentice


WASHINGTON (Politically Illustrated) – Ron Burkle donated a whopping $50,000 to Celebrity Apprentice Holly Robinson on Sunday night during a challenge to raise the most money to create a fitness class for 24 Hour Fitness.
The team Holly Robinson Peete was on raised a total of $200,000, more than any other non-finale show.

Sharon Osbourne’s team won $25,000 by developing the best gym class with a Rock N’ Roll class with VIP backstage passes allowing them to raise a total of $100,000.

Who did Donald Trump fire?

Nobody.

The money donated by Ron Buckle will go towards helping autistic children.




Three bidders vying to own Philadelphia Newspapers

Billionaire Ronald W. Burkle and a Canadian investment group emerged Friday as players in the forthcoming sale of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., the parent company of The Inquirer.

Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was one of three bidders to make an offer for the company by the 5 p.m. deadline. Burkle, sources said, has committed funds to help a group of local investors, who also submitted a bid.

The third bid came from a coalition of the company's senior lenders, who are seeking to recoup as much of their $318 million debt as they can.

The involvement of Burkle came after he was contacted by Gov. Rendell at the request of Brian P. Tierney, the chief executive officer of the newspaper company, according to sources.

The local investor group includes William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker; the Carpenters Union pension fund; and the philanthropist David Haas. Bruce Toll, vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc., is also said to be part of the group, but at a lower stake than he previously promised.

The three bids are now in the hands of the media company, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Company officers and their attorneys will evaluate them over the weekend to determine the "highest and best" offer at that point to serve as the floor for the auction. The auction will use the same "highest and best" standard to determine a winner Tuesday.

The company declined to provide any information about the bids other than saying there had been more than one.

Sources involved in the matter, however, confirmed the three bids and Burkle's commitment to the local investment group.

Stern Partners owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun, both in Manitoba, and seven community newspapers. It also owns two paper mills, a packaging firm, an apparel-maker, and a garden-products company, according to its Web site.

Ronald N. Stern, founder of the company, was among a Stern contingent that visited Philadelphia in January with an eye toward joining the bidding. Stern did not return a call for comment.

Burkle, through his Yucaipa Cos. L.L.C., a California-based holding company, was a late and an unexpected addition to the local investors who announced their intentions to try to buy the bankrupt company last summer.

A source familiar with the matter said the local investors still have an option to continue without Burkle's help if they conclude they have enough funds to purchase the company without him.

While Yucaipa had been among the firms that have reviewed Philadelphia Newspapers' finances as a prelude to bidding, it was assumed the holding company was considering its own bid - independent of the local investors.

Its decision to throw in with the local investors suggests that the group will offer a serious challenge to take control of the company.

According to sources, Burkle agreed to join the group after the intervention of Rendell, who reached out to Burkle on Thursday at the request of Tierney.

Burkle, who made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, has long had an interest in the company. He was one of its suitors four years ago before it was sold to a group led by Tierney. He is a former confidant of President Bill Clinton and a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Tierney and Rendell declined to discuss how Burkle came to be part of the investment group.

Frank Quintera, a principal with Yucaipa, said he could neither confirm nor deny Yucaipa's interest in the company.

On Thursday, Graham said the local group intended to submit a bid that would be similar to one that had been on the table but was withdrawn this week.

That bid offered $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for all of the company's assets except for its North Broad Street headquarters building.

The senior lenders, holders of the company's largest debt, had previously said through their attorneys that they intended to make a "robust cash bid" for the company.

Those creditors are Angelo, Gordon & Co., the CIT Syndicated Loan Group, Credit Suisse, Eaton Vance Management, General Electric Capital Corp. Inc., Halbis Distressed Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., McDonnell Investment Management L.L.C., and Venor Capital Master Fund L.L.C.

It was unclear if all of those lenders took part in the bid for the company. Fred S. Hodara, the lead attorney for the senior lenders, declined to discuss the lenders' bid in detail.

"It is a clean, all-cash bid that is significantly more valuable than the bid that was formerly known as the 'stalking horse,' " he said, referring to the local group's initial offering.

The bids were submitted to the company's financial adviser, Sonenshine Partners in New York City.

The company will review the bids in consultation with two sales monitors: retired federal Judge Arlin M. Adams and J. Scott Victor, an investment banker who specializes in distressed-debt situations.

The auction is to be held at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose, one of the company's two law firms.

The auction is central to the company's reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Money raised will go to the senior lenders to settle their debt.

The winner of the auction will still need to have the sale approved by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich at a confirmation hearing May 25.

Weinsteins, Burkle in exclusive Miramax talks: sources 


Hollywood producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein and their financial backer, billionaire Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, have an exclusive negotiating window to negotiate buying Disney's Miramax Films division, three sources with knowledge of the situation said on Friday.

Deals

The Walt Disney Co was seeking about $700 million for Miramax, sources said earlier this week. The Weinsteins and Yucaipa are offering $625 million, the New York Times reported on Friday, for the shuttered studio with a library of more than 600 films, including "Pulp Fiction."

The window temporarily sidelines competing bidders, one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were not public. A Weinstein spokeswoman declined to comment, and officials with Disney did not return calls.

Film executive David Bergstein said he is advising construction magnate Ron Tutor and other investors who had offered $650 million.

Financiers Alec and Tom Gores are behind another offer and are being advised by their brother, Sam Gores, who heads the Paradigm Talent Agency.

The Gores offered $550 million, but a source said this week that they increased that bid, although it was unclear by how much.

Revelations that Disney was floating a sale of Miramax surfaced in media reports in January.

One source familiar with the deal said that Disney could close the sale next week, while another source said it could happen within the next two weeks.

A third source said the Weinsteins have an advantage in the auction, because they still control certain rights to titles in the library that had been made under their long stewardship of Miramax.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein founded Miramax in 1979 and sold it to Disney in 1993 for $80 million. The pair continued to run the company until they left in 2005 to form The Weinstein Co.

A source said that if the sale is complete, Yucaipa would own Miramax and the Weinsteins would manage it.


Three bidders vying to own Philadelphia Newspapers



Billionaire Ronald W. Burkle and a Canadian investment group emerged Friday as players in the forthcoming sale of Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., the parent company of The Inquirer.

Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was one of three bidders to make an offer for the company by the 5 p.m. deadline. Burkle, sources said, has committed funds to help a group of local investors, who also submitted a bid.

The third bid came from a coalition of the company's senior lenders, who are seeking to recoup as much of their $318 million debt as they can.

The involvement of Burkle came after he was contacted by Gov. Rendell at the request of Brian P. Tierney, the chief executive officer of the newspaper company, according to sources.

The local investor group includes William A. Graham, chief executive officer of Graham Co., a Philadelphia regional insurance broker; the Carpenters Union pension fund; and the philanthropist David Haas. Bruce Toll, vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Bros. Inc., is also said to be part of the group, but at a lower stake than he previously promised.

The three bids are now in the hands of the media company, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Company officers and their attorneys will evaluate them over the weekend to determine the "highest and best" offer at that point to serve as the floor for the auction. The auction will use the same "highest and best" standard to determine a winner Tuesday.

The company declined to provide any information about the bids other than saying there had been more than one.

Sources involved in the matter, however, confirmed the three bids and Burkle's commitment to the local investment group.

Stern Partners owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun, both in Manitoba, and seven community newspapers. It also owns two paper mills, a packaging firm, an apparel-maker, and a garden-products company, according to its Web site.

Ronald N. Stern, founder of the company, was among a Stern contingent that visited Philadelphia in January with an eye toward joining the bidding. Stern did not return a call for comment.

Burkle, through his Yucaipa Cos. L.L.C., a California-based holding company, was a late and an unexpected addition to the local investors who announced their intentions to try to buy the bankrupt company last summer.

A source familiar with the matter said the local investors still have an option to continue without Burkle's help if they conclude they have enough funds to purchase the company without him.

While Yucaipa had been among the firms that have reviewed Philadelphia Newspapers' finances as a prelude to bidding, it was assumed the holding company was considering its own bid - independent of the local investors.

Its decision to throw in with the local investors suggests that the group will offer a serious challenge to take control of the company.

According to sources, Burkle agreed to join the group after the intervention of Rendell, who reached out to Burkle on Thursday at the request of Tierney.

Burkle, who made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains, has long had an interest in the company. He was one of its suitors four years ago before it was sold to a group led by Tierney. He is a former confidant of President Bill Clinton and a major donor to the Democratic Party.

Tierney and Rendell declined to discuss how Burkle came to be part of the investment group.

Frank Quintera, a principal with Yucaipa, said he could neither confirm nor deny Yucaipa's interest in the company.

On Thursday, Graham said the local group intended to submit a bid that would be similar to one that had been on the table but was withdrawn this week.

That bid offered $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for all of the company's assets except for its North Broad Street headquarters building.

The senior lenders, holders of the company's largest debt, had previously said through their attorneys that they intended to make a "robust cash bid" for the company.

Those creditors are Angelo, Gordon & Co., the CIT Syndicated Loan Group, Credit Suisse, Eaton Vance Management, General Electric Capital Corp. Inc., Halbis Distressed Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., McDonnell Investment Management L.L.C., and Venor Capital Master Fund L.L.C.

It was unclear if all of those lenders took part in the bid for the company. Fred S. Hodara, the lead attorney for the senior lenders, declined to discuss the lenders' bid in detail.

"It is a clean, all-cash bid that is significantly more valuable than the bid that was formerly known as the 'stalking horse,' " he said, referring to the local group's initial offering.

The bids were submitted to the company's financial adviser, Sonenshine Partners in New York City.

The company will review the bids in consultation with two sales monitors: retired federal Judge Arlin M. Adams and J. Scott Victor, an investment banker who specializes in distressed-debt situations.

The auction is to be held at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose, one of the company's two law firms.

The auction is central to the company's reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Money raised will go to the senior lenders to settle their debt.

The winner of the auction will still need to have the sale approved by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich at a confirmation hearing May 25.

Billionaire Burkle Joins Local Group as Three Bidders Emerge for Philly Newspapers

 
CHICAGO California billionaire Ronald Burkle -- who several times has made offers for big daily newspapers that never came to fruition -- is committed to help fund the local group bidding for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News at Tuesday's auction.

The deadline for offers for the newspapers closed Friday with three bidders, according to published reports: the local group put together by Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian P. Tierney; the senior creditors of the company; and Stern Partners, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based group that owns a controlling stake in the Winnipeg Free Press and eight other papers.

An Inquirer report by staff writer Christopher K. Hepp said Burkle became involved after he was contacted by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell at Tierney's request. The group -- which has adopted the slogan "Go Local" -- may go forward without funding from Burkle if they can raise sufficient money without him, Hepp wrote, citing an unnamed source.

The Inquirer reported the local group is bidding $35 million in cash and a $17 million letter of credit for the newspaper assets, excluding its headquarters building.
 

Miramax Update: Deadline Extended, Deal by Monday?
 
We hate to keep the suspense dragging, but it's the lawyers' fault - really.

As expected, The Walt Disney extended by five days the exclusive negotiating window it had granted to The Weinstein Company, Ron Burkle and their partners to close the deal to buy Miramax .

According to a knowledgeable individual, the hold-up is purely about working through the legal complications of the deal, poring through every document, every film project, and the due diligence on a deal this large.

As WaxWord has already reported, they have set the price at $625 million cash, but there are many, many details to complete.

Meanwhile, Philly.com is reporting that Burkle is also busy bidding on the Philadelphia Inquirier and Daily News. (Burkle among those bidding for Philly newspapers). He apparently got involved at the request of Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian Tierney.


Back in Hollywood, the new Miramax window was for five days, and thus expires on Monday. My understanding is there will be no deal before that time.

But you might expect it first thing Monday.

Stay tuned.
 

3 enter bidding for newspapers


Three bidders - one expected, one reconstituted and the third something of a surprise - plunked down $3 million each yesterday to join a competition for ownership of the Daily News and Inquirer.

The expected bid came from the hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions that hold most of the newspapers' secured debt, with a face value of more than $300 million. The group is led by Angelo, Gordon & Co. of New York City.

The reconfigured group includes several local investors recruited by the newspapers' current chief executive officer, Brian P. Tierney, with major financing from a privately held California firm, The Yucaipa Cos. Yucaipa, run by supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle, stepped into the breach this week, after businessman Bruce Toll decided to reduce his investment in the venture. Burkle is a major Democratic Party donor and a friend to former President Bill Clinton, whom he named to Yucaipa's board of directors.

The third bidder was said to be Stern Partners Inc., of Vancouver, Canada, an investment firm that owns a controlling interest in the Winnipeg Free Press, the Brandon Sun and seven community newspapers. Its other holdings include paper mills, a packaging firm and a garden-products company.

Its founder, Ronald N. Stern, led a delegation to Philadelphia in January and met a cross-section of management and union leaders.

But the Canadian firm got little attention in recent months as the newspapers and their secured lenders fought a legal battle over whether the lenders could use their IOUs to bid for the company.

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled that the newspapers could prohibit the IOUs - a process known as credit-bidding - and require all-cash bids.

Tierney and others involved in the auction process, designed to bring the newspapers through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, said they were bound by a confidentiality agreement not to identify any of the potential bidders.

The financial credentials of each bidder are being evaluated this weekend by the newspapers' lawyers and financial advisers to determine their eligibility for a full-fledged auction scheduled for Tuesday in the Manhattan offices of the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP.

Two independent sale monitors - retired federal judge Arlin M. Adams and investment banker J. Scott Victor - are reviewing the process to ensure its fairness.

If all goes as scheduled and the resolution of the bankruptcy case is confirmed by Chief U. S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich, the ownership of the newspapers and their Web site, Philly.com, would change hands in late June or July.

Burkle had tried to buy the Philadelphia newspapers four years ago, but the Yucaipa firm was outbid by a group of local investors, organized by Tierney.

Now Yucaipa has teamed up with some of Tierney's original investors - Toll, insurance broker William A. Graham and the pension fund of the Metropolitan Carpenters Union - to go after the newspapers again. A new local investor, philanthropist David Haas is also involved.