Tribune Co. has hired two investment banks to consider offers for some of its publishing assets, just two months after it emerged from bankruptcy protection.

According to a statement released by Tribune spokesman, Gary Weitman, ''There is a lot of interest in our newspapers, which we haven't solicited.''

Hiring outside financial advisers will help us determine whether that interest is credible, allow us to consider all of our options and fulfill our fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders and employees," he added.

Two investment banks JPMorgan Chase and Evercore Partners will oversee offers for Tribune's publishing assets, including The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and five other newspapers.

JPMorgan is also a part-owner of Tribune Co.

According to some media reports, Tribune hopes to sell all the newspapers in its group to a single buyer instead of selling each paper seperately.

After emerging from bankruptcy, analysts had speculated that Tribune would try to sell its newspaper business and focus on its more lucrative television business.

Tribune, which also has under its fold 23 television stations, filed for Chapter 11 in 2008, a year following financier Sam Zell leading a $13 billion leveraged buyout of the company.

It emerged from bankruptcy four years later at the end of December 2012 and last month hired Television executive Peter Liguori as its new chief executive.

Tribune's newspapers are profitable and now estimated to be worth $623 million, but nowhere near the $2 billion cash offer made for the Los Angeles Times alone by entertainment mogul David Geffen in 2006.

Some prominent suitors have been named by the media as possible buyers. Media baron Rupert Murdoch's News Corp may emerge as a front runner since it had shown interest last year in buying the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, two of the largest US newspapers owned by Tribune.

News Corp, the world's largest media company, already owns The Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones Newswires.

The Los Angeles Times also prints The Wall Street Journal that is distributed in Southern California, while the Chicago Tribune prints it for distribution in Chicago.

Austin Beutner, a former venture capitalist and ex-deputy mayor of Los Angeles, had last year said that he would love to see The Los Angeles Times returned to local ownership, and provide a renewed commitment to serious journalism on issues that are important to Los Angeles and California.

Another investor Aaron Kushner, who bought the Orange County Register and six small papers last year for around $400 million, had said that he along with some other investors are also interested in the paper.
 
Dough Manchester, the San Diego real estate developer who last year bought the local Union Tribune newspaper for around $110 million, could also launch a bid for the paper.

Another potential suitor could be Warren Buffett, who has been adding small town newspapers to his growing portfolio. Yesterday he acquired the Tulsa World newspaper in Oklahoma from the Lorton family for an undisclosed sum.

But the newspaper industry in the US has for long been on the decline due to advertisers shifting preferences to online advertising. Advertising revenues across the newspaper industry have fallen from $49.4 billion in 2005 to $23.9 billion in 2011, according to the Newspaper Association of America.