The sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family is “imminent,” sources said Thursday.
More than a month after Tribune Co. agreed to broad financial terms of a deal to sell the Chicago Cubs to the Rickettses, the two sides are close to completing all the legal documents associated with the large and complicated transaction.
Sources close to the matter described the execution of a definitive agreement as “imminent,” saying the expected signing could come within days.
The completion of a definitive agreement would mean Tribune Co. would not be able to solicit any other bids for the team, sources said.
Tribune Co., unhappy with the pace of final negotiations with the Rickettses after selecting the family in January as the winning bidder of a protracted auction, opened discussions with another potential buyer several weeks ago. The prospective buyer wasn’t new to the process. It was a group led by New York investor and former Chicagoan Marc Utay, which was one of three finalists in the auction for the team.
Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman declined to comment. Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for Tom Ricketts, who has led his family’s bid for the Cubs, did not immediately return a call for comment. Tom Ricketts, a Chicago banker, is the son of Joe Ricketts, who helped create the Omaha-based online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.
The Rickettses have agreed to pay about $900 million for the team, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which broadcasts many Cubs games.
