Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Cubs, is close to selecting a winning bid for the team from three finalists, according to people familiar with the sales talks.
The Chicago-based media conglomerate has been evaluating bids since the beginning of December and could make a decision within a week to 10 days, sources said. But one source cautioned that the process of narrowing the auction to one bidder still could be derailed, and Tribune Co. could pull the team and its landmark stadium off the market.
The company, which is controlled by Chicago real estate investor Sam Zell, also has not held firm to past deadlines. Zell had said he hoped to select a winning bidder by the end of 2008. A Tribune Co. spokesman declined to comment Monday night. (Chicago Tribune 1/6)
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Fifteen years after Texan software mogul John Moores bought the Padres, Moores and his wife Becky have reached “an agreement in principle” to sell the club to a group led by Jeff Moorad, an Orange County resident with wide-ranging experiences in the baseball business.
Moorad was the general partner of the rival Arizona Diamondbacks the past 4 1/2 years and for 20 years prior was a powerful agent to baseball stars such as Manny Ramirez and Mo Vaughn.
If the sale of the Padres goes through, the price will exceed $400 million, according to a major-league source. Moores put up about $80 million to buy the Padres in December 1994.
“It’s a jewel of a franchise,” Moorad said. (San Diego Union Tribune 1/2)
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IRVING, Texas — NFL owners have approved a plan that consolidates ownership of the Steelers in the hands of Dan Rooney and his oldest son while separating the football team from the family’s gambling interests.
Approval came today as the owners met at the posh Four Seasons Resort and Club in a suburb of Dallas. The vote was 31-0 with one abstention. It came two days after the NFL’s finance committee, via conference call, recommended approval.
Under the terms of the plan, Dan Rooney and Art Rooney II together will own a 30 percent interest in the team. The sale is expected to close on March 31.
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Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — West Ham United, owned by the majority shareholder of an Icelandic bank seized by government regulators, has sent a package of income and expense data to between 5 and 10 potential bidders, the U.K. soccer club said.
Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is trying to decide whether to sell the club, which is sitting a point above the relegation zone of England’s Premier League. Gudmundsson, whose fortune was estimated at $1.1 billion by Forbes magazine last March, controlled Iceland’s second-biggest bank, which was seized by the nation’s Financial Supervisory Authority in October.
“We have been reviewing the assets and as part of the process, we’ve signed a non-disclosure form with several parties,” West Ham vice chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson said in an interview. “We’ve received no binding offers so far. We haven’t made a decision to sell. We don’t need to sell.” (Bloomberg.com 12/17)
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SAN DIEGO — Padres owner John Moores has hired Goldman Sachs to search for a potential buyer as he goes through a divorce from his wife, Becky.
“Goldman will look at offers and make recommendations,” Moores said in an e-mail Monday to The Associated Press. “I have been told that, because these are difficult economic times, I should be prepared for a wide range of interest and offers.
“Needless to say, San Diego is a very attractive place to own a baseball team,” he said.
The hiring of Goldman Sachs was first reported by MLB.com.
The owner didn’t say what percentage of the team would be up for sale. (ESPN.com 12/15)
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Tribune Co. is trying again to sell Wrigley Field to the State of Illinois, a transaction estimated to cost between $200 million and $300 million.
Word of the talks was contained in a criminal complaint brought Tuesday against Gov. Rod Blagojevich and confirmed by William Brandt, chairman of the Illinois Finance Authority, which would issue bonds to buy the stadium.
Brandt called the talks “preliminary” and said the form and amount of financing couldn’t be determined until the Chicago-based media conglomerate settles on a team buyer.
The complaint accuses Blagojevich of using his power to try to oust Chicago Tribune editorial board members as a condition of providing state-backed financing for the purchase of Wrigley Field. Tribune Co. also owns the Chicago Tribune. (Chicago Tribune 12/10)
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Four sons of Art Rooney Sr. say they’ve handed the ball to their brother, Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney, in his fourth-and-one drive to restructure ownership of the fabled football franchise as time ticks away.
The main problem is whether the anticipated financing will materialize. Asked whether he could dodge getting tackled by a spreading national economic downturn, Rooney said: “That remains to be seen. There is really not a whole lot I can say about that at this time. We’re working on it.”
Rooney, 76, made his remarks after a board meeting Monday at Heinz Field where his brothers agreed to a deal that will make him principal owner of the Steelers. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 12/9)
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The Arena Football League is facing financial pressures that could force the league to dissolve, according to a number of newspaper reports.
The Denver Post, citing two unnamed sources “with knowledge of the league’s troubles,” said the league could dissolve if it doesn’t secure financing by Dec. 19.
“The business model for the league is broken,” Michael Young, Crush executive vice president, told the Denver Post. “If the rug is pulled out from under us, it’s pulled out from under us.”
On Friday, the AFL issued a statement which said: “The AFL is working on long-term structural improvements which have unfortunately delayed some important events, such as the release of the 2009 schedule, the Dispersal Draft, and the beginning of free agency. We thank our fans for their enthusiasm for these events and ask them to be patient a little longer while we finalize our long-term improvements. All AFL teams are working toward winning ArenaBowl XXIII.” (ESPN.com 12/8)
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Montreal Canadiens majority owner George N. Gillett Jr. vehemently denied Thursday his NHL club is for sale, contradicting a rumoured Forbes magazine report that ultimately never was published.
The phantom Forbes story deflected a little of the spotlight off the Canadiens’ unveiling of Centennial Plaza, the ribbon-cutting for the Bell Centre concourse tribute to the club’s history coming on its 99th birthday.
And that deflection had Gillett much less than pleased.
The Colorado resident’s finances have been ripe for speculation in recent days. His cash flow and debt load have been scrutinized in several published reports, especially related to his co-ownership of the Premier League’s Liverpool Football Club. (Montreal Gazette 12/5)
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ARLINGTON – The Dallas Cowboys have refinanced about $435 million worth of debt for their new $1.1 billion stadium despite the troubled bond market, team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday.
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The old debt had a variable rate, which has been a problem as the credit crisis caused some bond rates to fluctuate wildly this year. Mr. Jones said the new fixed interest rate is below 5 percent. Bond issuances of that size have been uncommon recently as corporations and state and local governments have found it harder to sell bonds.
“It’s quite a compliment to us because there just haven’t been any of those kinds of sizable financings done,” Mr. Jones said. “This is one of the few of this magnitude that has gotten done.”
He said this is essentially replacing the structure of the original debt for the stadium. Additional details about the transaction were not immediately available. (Dallas Morning News 12/5)
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