The highest price floated for Tribune's newspaper group, which Tribune plans to spin off as Tribune Publishing Co. later this year, topped out at about $1 billion when it was on the sales block last year. Classified Ventures took root at the Chicago Tribune in 1997 and was launched later that year with additional funding from Los Angeles Times' then-parent, Times Mirror Co., and Washington Post Co., as they teamed up to fend off competition from a swarm of online rivals such as Craigslist Inc. The company's annual revenue climbed steadily over the years, despite the recession.