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Posted: Monday, 06 July 2009 1:04PM
Report: Tribune Co. Reaches Deal To Sell Cubs
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CHICAGO (CBS) ― The financially strapped Tribune Company has reached a deal to sell off the Cubs and Wrigley Field, , sources tell CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine.
The Tribune reached a final sales agreement with the Ricketts family over the weekend, which will now be submitted to Major League Baseball for approval, the sources said.
A court must also approve the sale, since the Tribune Company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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.
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. Tribune Co. put the team on the market on opening day 2007, when real estate mogul Sam Zell agreed to buy the corporation.
Tom Ricketts grew up watching the Cubs and once lived in an apartment above a bar across the street from Wrigley Field. His 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.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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