Tuesday Morning Linkage

Cubs up for sale, but Wrigley may not be on block - MarketWatch
While Sam Zell and the employees of Tribune Co. plan to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team when their deal to take the media giant private is complete, it's unclear whether the friendly confines of Wrigley Field will be included in the deal. After its own paper, the Chicago Tribune, pointed out no mention was made of what is to happen with Wrigley in a press release announcing the team's sale, company officials didn't comment on whether they plan to include the hallowed baseball cathedral in the deal.

ESOP Association President Comments on Sale of Tribune Company - COMTEX
The ESOP Association is pleased to see news today of the sale of the Tribune Company to an ESOP. There are very few companies in ESOP history the size of the Tribune Company using a leveraged ESOP. It is refreshing to see a private equity/LBO transaction take place that includes the employees. The deal put together by Mr. Zell will permit employees to share in the wealth of the company. We urge the company's leadership to be aware of the challenges of being an ESOP company and to pay attention to the education of the employees so they are conscious of the needs of being an ESOP company and will be able to make the company succeed beyond anyone's expectations.

Employees to get majority stake in debt-heavy company - Chicago Tribune
To help finance the deal, Tribune said it would sell the Chicago Cubs and its 25 percent stake in local cable channel Comcast SportsNet Chicago after the 2007 season. It will also take on $8.4 billion in new loans, leaving the company with more than $13 billion in debt and the most encumbered balance sheet in the newspaper industry.

Times' owner casts its lot with real estate magnate - Los Angeles Times
Sam Zell's plan to buy Tribune Co. would put one of the nation's largest public media companies into the hands of a maverick investor with little experience in the business but a belief that there's still money to be made in newspapers and television.The $8.2-billion deal would give the Chicago real estate magnate virtual control of the Los Angeles Times, KTLA-TV Channel 5, the Chicago Tribune, cable TV network Superstation WGN and about 30 other daily papers and TV stations. Perhaps the biggest surprise in Chicago, the company's hometown, was the news that the beloved Chicago Cubs would be sold at the end of the baseball season that started Sunday.

Deal will add debt to Tribune, continue belt-tightening - Morning Call
Tribune, the country's second-largest newspaper publisher by circulation, would be owned by Zell and the company's 21,000 workers through a new employee stock ownership plan.The deal would add $11.2 billion of debt to Tribune's almost $5 billion of existing debt. That would intensify pressure on Tribune to reduce costs and jobs, through attrition or layoffs.

Sam Zell's Latest Gamble: Tribune Co. - NPR
Chicago real estate billionaire Sam Zell is often called the "Grave Dancer" for his willingness to take on business risks. His latest bold maneuver is the purchase of the Tribune Company — a struggling media congomerate based in his hometown.