Ariel Capital Management Raise Stakes in Tribune

Ariel along with one other major share holder raised their stakes in the Los Angeles Times ower, in anticipation of a sale or breakup of the company.

"I don't think you can put the rabbit back in the hat," John W. Rogers Jr., chairman of Ariel Capital Management, which owns about 6.6% of the company's shares told the LA Times. "We just think there is a lot of value there," Rogers said.

Ariel, based in Tribune's hometown of Chicago, raised its stake in the company to 15.7 million shares as of Sept. 30, from 14.9 million on June 30, an increase of more than 5%, according to the investment firm's latest financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Founded in 1983 by John W. Rogers, Jr., Ariel Capital Management, LLC is a Chicago-based money management firm with more than $16 billion in assets under management. In addition to managing separate accounts for corporate, public, union and non-profit organizations, Ariel Capital Management also serves as the investment adviser to the no-load Ariel Mutual Funds. It is the largest black-owned fund management company in America.

Tribune Co. is one of the top media companies in the U.S., operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the America's top three media markets. In publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Baltimore Sun, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company’s broadcasting group operates 25 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago’s WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune’s print and broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide audience.