Zell says Tribune has no liquidity issues

Sam Zell, the billionaire who took Tribune Co. private in December, said the company has no liquidity issues and expects to pay off its debt.

``We don't have any real maturities that aren't covered until 2015,'' Zell said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today.

Zell said he anticipates a sale of Tribune's Chicago Cubs baseball team by the end of the year. The company is also accelerating a business plan for its newspapers after an industrywide plunge in advertising sales, he said.