Citigroup also considered hiring investment bank Houlihan Lokey for work on the solvency issue, but the firm asked what would happen if it concluded that Tribune wouldn't be solvent. Ultimately, Citigroup didn't engage the firm. One Houlihan Lokey executive sent his colleague an e-mail saying: "I think we all know where we would end up with our analysis, we may be the ones to 'kill the deal' so to speak and not certain we want to be involved in that mess," the report said. The report suggests that J. P. Morgan Chase & Co., another lender, was also concerned about whether the company would be solvent after the buyout. In an e-mail from J. P. Morgan banker James Lee to bank CEO Jamie Dimon, the day before the second part of the financing closed, Mr. Lee said he spoke with Mr. "Zell that morning 'to get his confirmation that (Tribune) was solvent and he was going to make good on his commitment to me to make this deal work,' " according to the report. Mr.