The Biz of Baseball: Winning Bidder for Cubs Appears to Be Ricketts

And he appears thrilled!

As reported earlier today, the Tribune Co. has selected the final bidder in the sale of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Now the question is who is the finalist and how much is the final bid?

It appears the answer is who it is not. According Reuters, Chicago real estate executive Hersh Klaff has taken a backseat to Thomas Ricketts, chief executive of Chicago investment bank Incapital LLC and the son of the founder of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD: O); and Marc Utay, a managing partner with New York-based private equity firm Clarion Capital Partners LLC.

According to the report, the offers between Ricketts and Utay are structured differently with “Ricketts’ bid including more cash up front, while Utay’s offers a higher overall value.”

Reuters could not confirm, but one source said Ricketts was the preferred bidder, backing unconfirmed sources to The Biz of Baseball for months of the same.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting Ricketts as the selection, as well.

Tribune officials and a spokesman for the attorneys representing the creditors declined to comment, as did Utay and Ricketts. Klaff could not be reached.