What has bank official Tom Ricketts purchased in Chicago recently?
Sale of Cubs and Wrigley Clears Important Hurdle By RICHARD SANDOMIR The Chicago Cubs moved closer into the arms of new owners Friday when the Ricketts family signed a definitive agreement to buy the 133-year-old franchise; a stake in the regional cable network that carried some of its games; and Wrigley Field for $845 million. The family had offered $900 million until recently. The Ricketts family could take control of the team by the end of the year, ending a lugubrious process that began with the $8.2 billion sale of the Tribune Company to the real estate investor Sam Zell days before the start of the 2007 season. “Our family is thrilled to have reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Cubs, one of the most storied franchises in sports,” Joe Ricketts, the founder and former chairman of TD Ameritrade, an online discount brokerage that is based in Omaha, said in a statement released by Tribune. “The Cubs have the greatest fans in the world and we count our family
In April 2007, Sam Zell announced his intention to acquire the Chicago based Tribune Company. After acquiring the Tribune, Zell announced that he would sell the Cubs and related entities including Wrigley Field and a 25% share of SportsNet Chicago. Currently under bankruptcy protection, sale of the Cubs and the 25% interest in SportsNet Chicago will raise needed funds for the Tribune company. The Ricketts family bid, headed by Thomas S. Ricketts, was selected as the winning bid on January 22, 2009. The family bid includes all four siblings (Peter, Tom, Laura, and Todd) and both parents. Forbes estimates that the Ownership stake in the Chicago Cubs represents $642.0 million out of the total $900.0 million bid made by Ricketts. Ricketts has said that his love for the Chicago Cubs started during the 1984 season when he was 18 years old and living with his brother Pete in an apartment right next to Wrigley Field. He met his wife Cecelia in the Wrigley bleachers and simply states that “my f
