Jul 6, 2009 6:06 pm US/Central
Tribune Co. Very Near Final Deal To Sell Cubs
Sale To Ricketts Family Must Be Approved by MLB, Bankruptcy Court
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The financially strapped Tribune Company has reached a draft deal to sell off the Cubs and Wrigley Field, sources tell CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine.
The Tribune Co. and Ricketts family are reportedly very close to a final agreement. Most insiders believe the actual deal will be signed in the coming days.
A court must also approve the sale, since the Tribune Company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That, and approval by Major League Baseball, will take longer.
The sources said that the sale price is near the $900 million that Ricketts offered.
"We continue an active dialogue with the Ricketts family with an eye toward reaching a definitive agreement," Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman said in statement. "We don't intend to comment on the specifics of any potential transaction."
Tom Ricketts, the point man in his family's bid, said he will not issue a comment until the deal is approved by Major League Baseball, but a release is expected later in the day, the sources said.
MLB's approval process is expected to take a few weeks, and more than likely will come in early August.
As the Cubs prepared to take on the Atlanta Braves Monday night, the players said they don't expect the product on the field to change.
"We're happy with it. We know that whoever was going to end up owning this team, they're not going to be sellers by any point," said Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson. "Whoever owns this team is going to try to win and they're going to spend money."
The Ricketts family founded a brokerage firm that became investment giant TD Ameritrade.
The deal includes a 25 percent stake of the Ricketts family in Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Negotiations were held up because the two sides had been arguing about the value of television rights for the team.
Now more than a century removed from their last World Series title, the Cubs were purchased by Tribune Co. from Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $20.5 million in June 1981. That's about $47 million in today's economy. But with a sale price near $900 million, that's still an $850 million profit.
Tribune Co. put the team on the market on opening day 2007, when real estate mogul Sam Zell agreed to buy the corporation.
So who is the man behind the purchase?
Tom Ricketts, 43, grew up watching the Cubs and once lived in an apartment above a bar across the street from Wrigley Field. He even met his wife Cecelia in the bleachers at Wrigley.
He's still a huge fan of the team he fell in love with as a University of Chicago student. He just happens to belong to a billionaire family.
Tom's father, J. Joe Ricketts, helped found the retail brokerage that became Ameritrade.
Tom Ricketts never worked as an Ameritrade executive, but he does serve on the Omaha, Neb.-based company's board with his father and brother, Peter Ricketts.
Once the business end of the Cubs sale is completed, 75 percent of Major League Baseball's 30 owners need to approve the transfer.
If things go according to plan, Wilmette resident Tom Ricketts will become the new boss of the Chicago Cubs.
"I've heard he's a fine gentleman," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella. "He'll be a really nice owner. But no, I haven't met him. I've met his brother and his sister at spring training."
Ricketts is keeping a low profile until the transaction with the Tribune Co. is officially complete, but he's been quoted as saying: "We share the goal of Cubs fans everywhere to win a World Series."
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine and Ryan Baker, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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