05-29-2009, 09:29 PM
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Sam Zell, chairman and chief executive of Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co., indicated Thursday that the sale of the Chicago Cubs baseball team to the Ricketts family is not a sure thing.
"We've made it very public that the Cubs don't fit into the long-term picture of the Tribune," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "So if the Ricketts deal doesn't get done, I'm sure there will be other ones."
Zell's comments raise questions about Tribune Co.'s ability to close a deal many thought was a matter of course after the Chicago media company selected the Ricketts family's bid in January after a drawn-out auction. Zell had raised expectations in April that a transaction was certain when he told Bloomberg: "Everything is fine. We expect to close toward the end of May."
Now it's the end of May, and there's still no agreement, although Zell suggested the two sides appear to be close, saying, "We're basically trying to reach the end of the rope here."
Zell said the credit market slump has contributed to the delay.
"These are very difficult times," he said. "These are difficult times to arrange financing."
A spokesman for the Rickettses said the family would have no comment on Zell's remarks. A Tribune Co. spokesman also declined to comment.
Sources close to the family confirmed last week's reports that the Ricketts family had lined up financing for its Cubs bid. One source said there are some details to be worked out with the banks providing the loans but that the family has reached agreement on the terms of the financing. Sources have said another outstanding issue is the value of the TV and radio contracts to broadcast Cubs games.
The family made a bid of about $900 million in January. It has raised $400 million by selling some of its shares in TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., an online brokerage founded by Joe Ricketts, the family's patriarch. The family's pursuit of the Cubs is being led by Tom Ricketts, an investment banker who lives in Wilmette.
But reaching a deal on the debt took longer than expected, in part because banks are keeping a tight grip on their money during the recession and in the aftermath of last year's meltdown in the financial sector.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
"We've made it very public that the Cubs don't fit into the long-term picture of the Tribune," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "So if the Ricketts deal doesn't get done, I'm sure there will be other ones."
Zell's comments raise questions about Tribune Co.'s ability to close a deal many thought was a matter of course after the Chicago media company selected the Ricketts family's bid in January after a drawn-out auction. Zell had raised expectations in April that a transaction was certain when he told Bloomberg: "Everything is fine. We expect to close toward the end of May."
Now it's the end of May, and there's still no agreement, although Zell suggested the two sides appear to be close, saying, "We're basically trying to reach the end of the rope here."
Zell said the credit market slump has contributed to the delay.
"These are very difficult times," he said. "These are difficult times to arrange financing."
A spokesman for the Rickettses said the family would have no comment on Zell's remarks. A Tribune Co. spokesman also declined to comment.
Sources close to the family confirmed last week's reports that the Ricketts family had lined up financing for its Cubs bid. One source said there are some details to be worked out with the banks providing the loans but that the family has reached agreement on the terms of the financing. Sources have said another outstanding issue is the value of the TV and radio contracts to broadcast Cubs games.
The family made a bid of about $900 million in January. It has raised $400 million by selling some of its shares in TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., an online brokerage founded by Joe Ricketts, the family's patriarch. The family's pursuit of the Cubs is being led by Tom Ricketts, an investment banker who lives in Wilmette.
But reaching a deal on the debt took longer than expected, in part because banks are keeping a tight grip on their money during the recession and in the aftermath of last year's meltdown in the financial sector.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->