The owners of United Press International and the company`s managers have agreed to end their public dispute and cooperate in seeking a buyer for the wire service, UPI sources said Friday.
The sources said the agreement was reached Thursday in a nine-hour session at the offices of William White, U.S. bankruptcy trustee assigned to administer the affairs of UPI. On April 28, UPI filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court here.
One source said the meeting of co-owners Douglas Ruhe and William Geissler, their attorneys and lawyers representing UPI management was called to discuss ”a number of issues perceived as impeding a smooth operation of the company.”
”Each of the perceived issues was resolved,” the source said.
(Meanwhile, there were reports that Ruhe and Geissler may soon sell most of their interest in Joliet-based WFBN-TV (Channel 66) to Texas broadcaster Milt Grant. Their efforts to sell their interest in the station have been stalled for several months.
(The planned sale of WFBN became an issue for UPI, as Ruhe and Geissler previously had promised to invest $2 million in proceeds from the sale in the news service.)
The owner-management agreement would retain UPI Chairman Luis Nogales and his management team during Chapter 11 preceedings, the UPI sources said. Ruhe and Geissler, who own 83 percent of the stock in Media News Corp., UPI`s parent company, had said they might seek to oust Nogales.
The sources said that, under the agreement, any reasonable offer would be aired and none could be concealed from either side.
Since UPI`s Chapter 11 filing, Ruhe and Geissler have gone to court in an attempt to regain control of UPI`s parent company and announced they were close to a deal to sell the wire service.
Independently, Nogales and UPI President Ray Wechsler have met with numerous potential buyers. A number of credible prospective purchasers have expressed interest in the company, Wechsler said this week.
But some potential investors have expressed confusion about which group to negotiate with and others said privately they are reluctant to deal amid the public bickering, company sources said.
