CHICAGO – Tribune Co. shareholders consented to the $8.2 billion buyout of the media conglomerate on Tuesday, an expected but noteworthy milestone in a drawn-out transaction that still awaits federal approval and billions of dollars in promised financing.

The shareholder meeting in Tribune Tower was marked by unions’ complaints that employees of the soon-to-be employee-owned firm will have no formal role in running it. Some shareholders also voiced concerns about its ability to operate in a struggling newspaper industry under a mountain of debt.

But Tribune easily secured the backing of shareholders for the deal to take the company private under an employee stock ownership plan – a foregone conclusion since the $34-a-share transaction will pay them significantly more than the current value of the languishing stock.

Preliminary results indicated 97 percent of those casting votes, representing a majority of shares, had approved the April 1 deal led by billionaire Sam Zell.

Zell skipped the anticlimactic 40-minute meeting, which was attended by only a few dozen shareholders. Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons, who will cede the chairman’s role to Zell when the deal is complete, said the real estate mogul had a prior commitment.

Zell later issued a statement through the company: “I believe Tribune Co. is reasserting itself as a national leader in news generation and distribution. Despite the recent upheaval in the credit markets, my view of the company as an investment has not changed.”

FitzSimons told shareholders the company still anticipates receiving approval from the Federal Communications Commission in the fourth quarter, with the deal closing soon afterward. He said Tribune expects its operations to remain in compliance with its creditors, as required in order to hold lenders to their commitment for an additional $4.2 billion in financing.

Tribune shares rose 96 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $27.98 Tuesday. That’s well above last Thursday’s nine-year low of $22.78 but still 18 percent below the $34 transaction price.