Chicago Cubs deal hits snag 18/06/2009 |
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A drawn-out $900 million deal by the Ricketts family to buy storied baseball team the Chicago Cubs has hit a possible snag, CNBC reported on Wednesday, but a spokesperson for the buyer said talks were going smoothly.
CNBC said that key issues of dispute are the final purchase price and details about broadcasting contracts.
"The report is untrue and the negotiations have been moving along very positively," Dennis Culloton, spokesman for the Ricketts family said.
Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman said: "We continue an active dialogue with the Ricketts family with an eye toward reaching a definitive agreement. We won't comment on the specifics of any potential transaction."
A source familiar with the negotiations between Tribune and Ricketts, who asked not to be identified, also said the deal is close to completion, financing is in place and that only a few issues remain before it closes.
Tom Ricketts, chief executive of Chicago investment bank Incapital LLC and son of the founder of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp, is leading the bid, which won a lengthy auction for the Cubs in January.
Two sources familiar with the talks told Reuters in May that the deal could close soon, despite disagreements on the value of broadcast contracts.
Tribune Co, which owns the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times newspapers, filed for bankruptcy in December due to its heavy debt load and the weak U.S. publishing sector. It put the Cubs, the team's storied Wrigley Field home and a 25 percent stake in a local sports TV network on the block in April 2007, when Tribune agreed to an $8.2 billion buyout led Zell.
(Source: Reuters)
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