Cubs sale close to done

Tom Ricketts has found 3 banks willing to fork over $450 million that he needs to finish the sale. The banks could finalize the deal by the end of the week. The sale could be completed by July. Chicago Cubs buyer Tom Ricketts is close to lining up three banks to arrange the $450 million financing necessary to complete his acquisition of the team, financial sources said, positioning him to clear a substantial hurdle in the long-running sale of the club. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America are set to commit to the deal as soon as the end of this week, the sources said. That commitment would allow Ricketts to submit his $900 million bid to the court that’s overseeing the bankruptcy filing of current Cubs owner Tribune Co. The court likely then would take 30 to 45 days to process the offer, one source said, leaving a potential closing ready by July. The bankruptcy will hold things up a little bit, but it’s likely that Ricketts will be making decisions for this team by sometime in July even if MLB owners haven’t approved him. That appears to be the only hurdle that may make the sale go into August. That’s fine if Ricketts is able to run things and allow the Cubs to add a little payroll around the trade deadline. MLB at that point could wait until its August owners meeting to approve the deal or could call a special owners meeting to address the sale earlier. About time! (H/T to Ryno)