Bidding Opens Again in Tribune Co.'s Stalled Cubs Sale

By: E&P Staff Of all the assets Sam Zell took charge of when he engineered Tribune Co.'s going-private deal in December 2007, the Chicago Cubs baseball team and its landmark Wrigley Field venue seemed to be the easiest to convert into quick -- and big -- cash.

Zell himself suggested at the time that unloading the team and stadium would be job one, and the speculation quickly grew that the club Tribune bought for just $20.5 million in 1981 would fetch $1 billion, enough for a significant dent in its nearly $13 billion debt.

Since then, however, the deal has been repeatedly delayed for reasons ranging from the drying up of credit to tax complications -- and even a political scandal. Impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is accused of using the state's possible purchase of Wrigley as leverage to get certain editorial writers fired at the Chicago Tribune. No one was fired, and Tribune officials have repeatedly asserted they did nothing wrong in the episode.

Now it has emerged that Tribune, which is in bankrtupcy reorganization, is talking with a new bidder for the club and stadium -- five months after choosing a supposed final buyer from 10 contending bidders.

Tribune says it is continuing to negotiate the sale with the Ricketts family of Omaha, which made their fortune with the discount stock brokerage AD Ameritrade. They have offered a bid widely reported to be $900 million.

But numerous published reports in Chicago say disagreements over how to value broadcast rights to the Cubs has led the Ricketts to consider revising their bid downward.

And these same reports say Tribune has opened a second set of talks with Marc Utay, a suburban Chicago native and investor whose previous bid had been bested by the Ricketts.

Chicago Tribune reporter Ameet Sachdev, citing unnamed sources, wrote this week that Tribune has the contractual right to talk with other bidders while negotiating with the Ricketts.

Zell hinted in an interview with Bloomberg News in May that the Ricketts deal might be derailed. "If the Ricketts deal doesn't get done, I'm sure there will be other ones," he said.

The flagship Tribune newspaper, citing a "baseball source," said Zell may be using the Utay bid to speed the Ricketts deal.

"I think it likely that Zell is trying to use the threat to push Ricketts to the finish line, with the possible bonus that Utay comes up with something," the source said.

Tribune Co.'s only official comments has been to say talks with the Ricketts are continuing and that company is assessing other alternatives at the same time.