Who will be sitting in the owners suite when the sale finally goes through?
First, here is the fiction reported in a Reuters story this morning that is loaded with inaccuracies. The story quotes anonymous sources that say the Tribune has reached an agreement on the terms for a sale of the team to a group led by private equity investor Marc Utay.
That is 100% incorrect.
The Tribune has reached no agreement to sell the Cubs with ANYONE and that includes the Ricketts family, the Utay group, or the man on the moon. Tribune VP of Communications Gary Weitman confirmed to me today that no agreement has been reached with anyone.
The story also says that by reaching an agreement with the Utay group that the company now has two offers to submit to the bankruptcy court. This is also wildly inaccurate.
All of the Misinformation Out There About the Sale of the Cubs
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Several sources that I spoke with this afternoon told me that the
bankruptcy court does not sift through multiple offers. They simply
look at the offer that is presented to them and they say yes or no if
they will give their approval.
Here is how the process will play
out. Once the Tribune Company reaches an agreement with a prospective
buyer they will then submit the terms of the deal to Major League
Baseball to make sure that the deal is structured properly along the
rules that MLB has in place regarding the sale of a team.
Then once that green light is given the agreement will be sent to the
bankruptcy court for their approval which various sources have told me
is a lock to happen. Then and only then will the transaction be sent to
Bud Selig and he will call for a vote of the other owners.
If they approve of the new ownership group then the deal will become
official. Should the bankruptcy committee approve of a group but the
other owners of MLB do not approve them then the deal falls through.
The bankruptcy process does not take precedence over Major League
Baseball's approval policy.
It does not matter if there is a
higher bid out there for the team. If the other owners don't approve of
who that bid is from then it does not pass. The dollars being offered
are irrelevant if the person or group offering them doesn't receive
league approval. More to come as this story unfolds but just know
this....There is no deal to sell the Cubs to anyone just yet. It will
happen but just not yet.
Kap
I will have breaking news updates in the sports world on Twitter via @thekapman
2 Comments
flyball said:
thanks! I was wondering which had to go first the court's or the owners' approval
Doc said:
After 2 1/2 years, how much longer could this sale be stretched out for? Ugh!
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