But it’s kind of like a mortgage. To refresh, the hope was to have the deal done by Opening Day, and then by this week for the regular MLB owners quarterly meeting, but due to the continuing financial crisis, it won’t happen.
So anyway, a preliminary step is getting done: new owner Tom Ricketts is lining up his financing for the purchase.
Sources said Ricketts has lined up $350 million in bank financing for the acquisition. They said the money is coming from JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
The rest of the $900 million purchase price is expected to come from Ricketts ($450M) and a preferred share offering ($100M).
Before owners can vote, as we’ve emphasized here before, the Tribune’s bankruptcy court will have to approve the sale. Though approval should be largely perfunctory at this point – this is made even more likely by the fact that three of the Tribune’s largest creditors (the aforementioned JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America) are financing the deal – it will take some time. Could add an additional month to the waiting game.