Payoff Pitch

Ricketts Family Tribune's Choice To Buy Cubs

After a tumultuous two-year auction process, Tribune Co. finally selects the family of Incapital Holdings Founder & CEO Thomas Ricketts as its choice to buy the Cubs, Wrigley Field and related assets. Though the deal still requires a final agreement between the two sides and the approval of at least 23 MLB owners, Cubs fans must be relieved at the prospect of the team's ownership saga coming to a close. The $900M offer is by far the highest price fetched for an MLB team, but still below the $1B offer Tribune once believed it would attract. While Tribune may have received higher bids, it is believed the Ricketts family's conservative financing, including more money up front, was appealing to the cash-strapped company. One of the Ricketts' first orders will be to deal with the rapidly-aging ballpark, which needs a facelift.

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