Ricketts Family Latest Potential Buyer Of Cubs, Wrigley Field

The Ricketts family, which founded TD Ameritrade Holding, has “joined the list of potential bidders" for the Cubs, according to sources cited by Michael Oneal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The group, headed by Chicago-based investment banking firm Incapital Holdings Founder & CEO Thomas Ricketts, has “signed a non-disclosure agreement with Cubs owner Tribune Co. and is readying the application" to MLB.  Ricketts is the son of Ameritrade Founder J. Joe Ricketts. Meanwhile, an investment banker “representing another potential buyer said his sources at [MLB] are hearing prices for the Cubs, Wrigley Field and Tribune’s quarter share of ... Comcast SportsNet of well more than $1[B].”  The banker said, “The price is going to be eye-popping.”  Oneal notes many people believe Madison Dearborn Partners Chair & CEO John Canning Jr., a limited partner in the Brewers, has an advantage in the bidding because of his "long relationship with [MLB] Commissioner Bud Selig and his deep Chicago roots” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/12).

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