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Ricketts family sells part of TD Ameritrade stake to fund Cubs bid

By Ameet Sachdev | Tribune staff reporter

12:01 PM CST, February 18, 2009

Tribune Co.'s plan to sell the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts family appears to be moving forward, as the family will sell some of its stock holdings to help finance its $900 million bid.

The family is raising about $403 million by selling 34 million of its shares in TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., an online brokerage founded by Joe Ricketts, the Omaha-based company said Wednesday.

"Our family is working to close a deal for the Chicago Cubs, and we are pleased to have reached a mutually beneficial agreement with the company that will help us to do so," Joe Ricketts said in a statement.

The proceeds from the sale represent most of the equity the Ricketts family plan to put up in its effort to buy the Cubs, Wrigley Field and 25 percent stake in the regional sports network Comcast SportsNet, said a person familiar with the family's bid.

The Ricketts' proposal is to raise about half of the $900 million from family assets and borrow the rest from banks, sources have said. Getting the banks to committ is proving to be tricky in the current economy, but the family remains confident it can get the deal done, a source said. The family is willing to provide more equity if necessary, the source said.

Chicago-based Tribune entered into exclusive negotiations with the Ricketts last month after selecting its bid from three finalists. The two sides are working out a sales agreement, which then must be approved by Major League Baseball.

With the Tribune operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it's also possible that a bankruptcy judge will have to give his approval. The family hopes to close the transaction by mid to late April, the source said.

TD Ameritrade agreed to pay the Ricketts family $11.85 per share. The stock was trading at $12.54, down 2 cents, in mid-morning trading on Nasdaq.

The family is selling the stock near its 52-week low of $9.34. The stock has lost about half its value since mid-September, when it hit a 52-week high of $23.49.

TD Ameritrade has avoided most of the problems that plagued other financial services companies, because it didn't invest in U.S. subprime mortgages.

After the transaction, the Ricketts family stake in the company will shrink from about 22 percent of TD Ameritrade's stock to about 17.7 percent.

As part of the stock sale, the family will give up one of its three seats on TD Ameritrade's board. Joe Ricketts and two of his sons, Tom and Pete, currently sit on the board. It was not immediately known which of the three will step off the board.

Tom Ricketts, who heads the Chicago-based investment bank Incapital LLC, has represented the family in its bid to buy the Cubs.

asachdev@tribune.com