Sale of the Cubs thread

[SportsWorld]

At least 3 bidders for Cubs in new round
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 6493.story

At least three prospective buyers have submitted a new round of bids to Tribune Co. for the Chicago Cubs, one of professional sports' trophy franchises.

Chicago real estate investor Hersch Klaff; the Ricketts family, founder of online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Marc Utay, a New York private equity investor, delivered their proposals by the Thanksgiving deadline, according to sources involved in the negotiations.

Sources declined to comment on the size of the three bids, which include the team, Wrigley Field and Tribune's 25-percent stake in Comcast SportsNet, a regional cable sports network.

It was unknown at the time this report was filed whether two other prospective buyers -- Houston businessman Jim Crane and Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team -- had submitted new bids.

[hermes]

well if Cuban can't get it, i'm moving to support the Ricketts

i like that name

[SportsWorld]

Kenney: Hope to sell Cubs by spring training
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... 1018.story

Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney said Friday he expects the team to be sold by spring training, and he shot down speculation that Tribune Co. would retain ownership of almost half the team.

Kenney denied reports that Tribune Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Zell would "hang on to a big, big piece" of the team.

"The bids that came in were for control of the team where for Sam, any interest would be a small interest," Kenney said. "I think at some point people were talking about Sam holding almost half of it. That's not the way they [bid].

"People are ready to come in, and while the economy is as challenging as it is, I think the value of the franchise really hasn't changed long-term. I think the bidders are all well financed and understand that. They didn't deviate much from where the value should be."