Tribune Company Completes Acquisition of Gracenote

CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribune Company today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Gracenote from Sony Corporation of America.

The deal brings together Gracenote with Tribune Media Services, forming one of the largest sources of entertainment metadata in the world.  The addition of Gracenote also expands Tribune's reach into new growth areas, including streaming music services, mobile devices and automotive infotainment, where Gracenote has a powerful presence.  For Gracenote, Tribune's portfolio of television networks and stations will offer platforms to bring its smart-TV, music and advertising innovations to market.

"This year promises to be a transformative one for Tribune. We are continuing to make investments to ensure that we evolve with the ever-changing digital media landscape," said Peter Liguori, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Company.  "With the addition of Gracenote, we will expand our metadata capabilities by extending the business into new areas of music and automotive."

"The acquisition of Gracenote is a natural extension of our current portfolio," said Shashi Seth, President of Tribune Digital Ventures.  "This reinforces Tribune's commitment to investing in cutting edge technologies that will shape the way consumers interact with digital media now and in the future."

Gracenote will continue to operate from its headquarters in Emeryville, Calif.

"I am inspired by Tribune's vision of digital entertainment and the role Gracenote can play in making it a reality," said Stephen White, President of Gracenote.  "The acquisition by Tribune just makes sense.  We see great opportunities to leverage Gracenote's technologies, data and expertise with Tribune's core media business to create more dynamic entertainment experiences."

Tribune Company's intent to purchase all shares of Gracenote, Inc. from Sony for $170 million, subject to standard adjustments, was announced on Dec. 23, 2013.

Guggenheim Securities acted as financial adviser to Tribune.  Debevoise & Plimpton provided legal counsel to Tribune on this transaction.

About Gracenote
Gracenote, Inc. provides music and video content and technologies to the world's hottest entertainment products and brands. Gracenote is the industry standard for music and video recognition and is supported by the largest source of music and video metadata, featuring descriptions of more than 180 million tracks and TV listings for 30 countries. Gracenote has offices in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin, Seoul, Taipei and San Francisco with worldwide headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. For more information, visit our website www.gracenote.com or follow us at @GracenoteTweets and www.facebook.com/PoweredbyGracenote.

About TRIBUNE Company
TRIBUNE is one of the country's leading media companies, operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing, and interactive. The company's broadcasting group owns or operates 42 television stations, WGN America on national cable, the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV, Tribune Studios and Chicago's WGN-AM. In publishing, Tribune's leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel (South Florida), Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, The Morning Call and Daily Press. The company also owns Tribune Media Services (TMS), an international leader in entertainment information and a primary source for TV listings data.

SOURCE Tribune Company