Tribune Co. will sell Cubs, Wrigley Field to Ricketts family

CHICAGO -- Media conglomerate Tribune Co.. announced a definitive agreement Friday to sell all but a 5% stake in the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field to the billionaire Ricketts family, capping a tortuous process that began nearly 2 ½years ago.

Tribune valued the transaction at about $845 million.

"Our family is thrilled to have reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs, one of the most storied franchises in sports," said Joe Ricketts, who founded the Omaha, Neb.-based online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. "The Cubs have the greatest fans in the world, and we count our family among them."

Tribune had announced on Opening Day in 2007 that the marquee baseball franchise and historic ballpark would be sold at the end of that season. But the process was slowed by CEO Sam Zell's efforts to maximize sale profits, the collapse of the credit markets and Tribune's 2008 bankruptcy filing.

The Ricketts family, tentatively selected as the winning bidder last January, had agreed to pay about $900 million for the team, Wrigley and a 25% stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which broadcasts many Cubs games.

But that total was renegotiated, with Tribune retaining a small stake for legal reasons.

The sale figure exceeds the record $660 million paid for the Boston Red Sox in 2002, although that deal did not include a ballpark.

The successful bid was led by Tom Ricketts, 43, a Chicago investment banker and Joe Ricketts' son. He is a Cubs die-hard who grew up watching the team, once lived in an apartment across the street from Wrigley and first met his wife in the stands at a game there.

Major League Baseball still must approve the sale, but that is not expected to be an obstacle. The ownership change needs to be approved by three-quarters of the league's 30 owners.

First, Tribune intends to include the Cubs in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The ballclub was left out of the initial filing last December while the sale negotiations proceeded. But taking it into bankruptcy court now is expected to expedite the sale.