Tribune Co. said Monday it has received a refund of about $344 million in income taxes and interest paid under a 2005 federal tax court ruling in a case it settled with the government.The media conglomerate first announced a tentative agreement in June in the long-running Matthew Bender case. It said net cash proceeds of the settlement are about $286 million after consideration of income taxes.

The final settlement eases the impact of a ruling that Tribune said at the time could cost it $1 billion unless it won an appeal.

The case stems from the 1998 tax-free reorganization of the Matthew Bender division under Times Mirror Co., which Tribune acquired in 2000. A U.S. Tax Court ruling in September 2000 disallowed it, unraveling hundreds of millions of dollars of presumed tax savings.



The 2005 ruling helped send Tribune and its stock into a downward slide that ended with the company, under pressure from its largest shareholders, putting itself up for sale and ultimately agreeing in April to go private in an $8.2 billion buyout led by real estate magnate Sam Zell.

Tribune owns 11 daily newspapers, 23 TV stations and the Chicago Cubs.

Shares in the company rose 18 cents to $27.50 in Monday trading.

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