Tom Ricketts Lines Up Financing for Cubs Purchase

The protracted Cubs sale drama may soon come to an end:

"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.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."

And what effect does any of this have on what’s going on inside the foul lines?  Not a jot.  I bet there are guys on teams who can’t even tell you the name of the guy who owns their club.  Being a pro athlete affords you a unique chance to completely tune out of what’s going on in the real world.