Checkfree Corp., a leading provider of interactive financial transaction processing services, has sold a minority stake to the Tribune Co.
Michael Sapienza, a vice president at Columbus, Ohio-based Checkfree, said the alliance will allow his firm to leverage its electronic payment system with the Tribune's consumer-based services.
The Chicago-based Tribune Co. publishes a number of periodicals and also produces and syndicates programming for multimedia formats.
"We will be able to share Checkfree's knowledge and capabilities in developing electronic commerce and speed the development of our own enhanced electronic services," said David Hiller, senior vice president of the Tribune Co.
Mr. Sapienza said Checkfree expects to use the capital from the Tribune Co.'s stake to develop new products.
Checkfree offers consumers and businesses a broad range of interactive financial services through a variety of access channels, including the telephone and personal computers.
The Tribune Co.'s investment in Checkfree marks the eighth in series of purchases it has made in an effort to diversify into computer services.
Other parts of the diversification included the purchase of a 10% stake in America Online, the nation's third-largest on-line computer service.
"Checkfree will give us a stake in the payment process," said Richard Carr, a spokesman for Tribune Co.
Neither company would discuss the value of the transaction, but Mr. Carr revealed that the Tribune Company will receive a seat on Checkfree's board of directors.
Industry insiders estimate the value of the deal to be over $10 million.
"The Tribune Company seems to going with the theory that if you send up a number of balloons, one will stick to the ceiling," said James Dougherty an analyst who follows the firm for Dean Witter Reynolds in New York.
"They have made a number of small investments in technology and services in the last few years and are hoping one will pay off."
