01-23-2009, 04:29 AM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-tom-rick...0,2963991.story
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->According to a highly placed MLB source, Commissioner Bud Selig hasn't met with the Ricketts group, but Selig didn't view that as an obstacle to the sale.
"From everything we know, the Ricketts are great people and should be a fine group to run one of our cornerstone franchises," the source said.
The Ricketts' offer is unprecedented for baseball, topping the $700 million a group of investors paid in 2002 for the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and an 80 percent stake in a New England-based sports network. Yet the price is less than the $1 billion or more some predicted in 2007 that Tribune Co. would receive for the team and related assets.
Tribune Co. put the Cubs up for sale in April 2007, upon announcing that it would go private in a debt-laden $8.2 billion transaction led by Chicago real estate financier Sam Zell. The deal is needed to pay down debt.
The Cubs and Wrigley Field were not included in the bankruptcy filing, giving Tribune Co. some breathing room to complete the auction. But it's likely the bankruptcy judge will have to approve the sale of the Cubs because the proceeds will go to creditors.
The appeal of the Ricketts bid was that it featured more cash up front than the other bids, promising roughly 50 percent in equity and the rest of the $900 million financed with debt, a source said. Sources said the structure was favored by Tribune Co. and creditors since it meant more cash in the bank on closing day, money that no longer would be at risk.
Tribune Co.'s board signed off on the deal at a meeting Monday, and it was presented to the key creditors in the bankruptcy case on Thursday, sources said.
Now, Tribune Co. executives and the Ricketts have to transform a deal-in-concept into a signed transaction.
With negotiations at a preliminary stage and the recession presenting a potential hurdle to financing, none of the participants was ready Thursday night to uncork the champagne. Tom Ricketts, who started an investment bank in Chicago, was said to have spent the evening quietly at home with his wife and children.
"We look forward to working with the Tribune and Major League Baseball to close the transaction promptly," the family said. "If we succeed in buying the team, our work will just be beginning."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is all great news.
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->According to a highly placed MLB source, Commissioner Bud Selig hasn't met with the Ricketts group, but Selig didn't view that as an obstacle to the sale.
"From everything we know, the Ricketts are great people and should be a fine group to run one of our cornerstone franchises," the source said.
The Ricketts' offer is unprecedented for baseball, topping the $700 million a group of investors paid in 2002 for the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and an 80 percent stake in a New England-based sports network. Yet the price is less than the $1 billion or more some predicted in 2007 that Tribune Co. would receive for the team and related assets.
Tribune Co. put the Cubs up for sale in April 2007, upon announcing that it would go private in a debt-laden $8.2 billion transaction led by Chicago real estate financier Sam Zell. The deal is needed to pay down debt.
The Cubs and Wrigley Field were not included in the bankruptcy filing, giving Tribune Co. some breathing room to complete the auction. But it's likely the bankruptcy judge will have to approve the sale of the Cubs because the proceeds will go to creditors.
The appeal of the Ricketts bid was that it featured more cash up front than the other bids, promising roughly 50 percent in equity and the rest of the $900 million financed with debt, a source said. Sources said the structure was favored by Tribune Co. and creditors since it meant more cash in the bank on closing day, money that no longer would be at risk.
Tribune Co.'s board signed off on the deal at a meeting Monday, and it was presented to the key creditors in the bankruptcy case on Thursday, sources said.
Now, Tribune Co. executives and the Ricketts have to transform a deal-in-concept into a signed transaction.
With negotiations at a preliminary stage and the recession presenting a potential hurdle to financing, none of the participants was ready Thursday night to uncork the champagne. Tom Ricketts, who started an investment bank in Chicago, was said to have spent the evening quietly at home with his wife and children.
"We look forward to working with the Tribune and Major League Baseball to close the transaction promptly," the family said. "If we succeed in buying the team, our work will just be beginning."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is all great news.