Tribune signs repayment deal

Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, signed a $300 million asset-backed commercial paper credit agreement with Barclays Bank PLC, using $225 million to repay a term loan. The deal allows Tribune, the newspaper publisher taken private in December by real estate billionaire Sam Zell, to borrow against receivables, the Chicago-based company said Thursday in a statement. The loan gives Zell breathing room to find buyers for assets to reduce $13 billion in debt. Tribune, confronting the worst industry drop-off in advertising sales on record, is selling the Chicago Cubs baseball team and exploring options for the buildings housing its two biggest newspapers, the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. The Times said yesterday it will eliminate 250 jobs by Labor Day.