Cubs Sale Is Done

[jstraw]

<!--quoteo(post=63614:date=Sep 18 2009, 10:40 AM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ Sep 18 2009, 10:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=63611:date=Sep 18 2009, 10:08 AM:name=jstraw)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (jstraw @ Sep 18 2009, 10:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->It's not a big deal. My assumption is his financial adviser is just being diligent. Just making sure this obligation remains in place in the unlikely event Shawon ever decides to pursue that degree in comparative French literature. It's not going to kill anyone to put it in writing that bankruptcy or no, yeah...we'll pay the tuition.


Silly? Probably. But I doubt it's worrying anyone.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't think anyone is worried about this holding up the sale. I just thought it was odd that Dunston's name would come up over something so trivial. I'm not even sure why the media picked up on it, to be honest.
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I don't really think the MLBPA pulled this rabbit out of a hat but it occurs to me that the union might want to draw a line in the sand that these kind of formality bankruptcies aren't going to be allowed to affect even the smallest contractual obligations.

[rok]

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->IRS challenge to Cubs sale might add to Tribune Co. liability

September 23, 2009
BY DAVID ROEDER droeder@suntimes.com

The Sam Zell-orchestrated sale of the Chicago Cubs probably will be challenged by the IRS, a prominent tax expert said Tuesday.

Robert Willens said an IRS probe should not upset Tribune Co.'s plan to sell the team and related broadcasting assets for $845 million to the Ricketts family. That's because any IRS action would follow an audit that might not occur until 2011, long after the team is expected to change hands.

But a fight with the IRS could expose Tribune, which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy, to a liability of $300 million. The Cubs sale was structured to save about $300 million in capital gains taxes. It is set up as a partnership with Tribune keeping a 5 percent stake.

"The IRS is not favorably disposed to leveraged partnerships and this is about the highest profile leveraged partnership we've had," said Willens, who runs a consulting firm and publishes a tax newsletter. In response, Tribune issued a statement saying, "The Cubs transaction, while not yet concluded, meets both the letter and the spirit of the tax law."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[rok]

One more hurdle out of the way
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35583
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Tribune gets OK for Cubs sale
Sept. 24, 2009

(AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge cleared the way Thursday for the Tribune Co. to sell the Chicago Cubs and the storied Wrigley Field to the family of billionaire and longtime fan Joe Ricketts.

Judge Kevin J. Carey authorized Tribune to sell the family a 95 percent stake in the team, the stadium and related sports properties for $845 million.

The deal also needs approval from three-quarters of Major League Baseball's 30 team owners. The owners have not scheduled a vote on the Cubs sale, although one could come as soon as their meeting in November.

The Tribune plan calls for a separate bankruptcy filing by Chicago National League Ball Club, an affiliate not involved in Tribune's current Chapter 11 case. The Cubs bankruptcy proceedings should last only a few days but is needed to ensure that sale is free of all liens and claims and that existing contracts can be transferred to the new owner.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->