UPDATE 4-Ricketts, Tribune reach deal for Cubs -source

* Ricketts, Tribune finalize terms for Cubs sale

* Terms for slightly less than original $900 mln offer

* Deal still needs baseball, bankruptcy court approvals
(Adds Ricketts family spokesman declining comment in paragraph
3)

By Ben Klayman

CHICAGO, July 6 (Reuters) - The Ricketts family has reached
a deal to buy the storied Chicago Cubs baseball team from
bankrupt media company Tribune Co (TRBCQ.PK) for slightly less
than the original $900 million bid, a source familiar with the
deal said on Monday.

"There is a deal between the Ricketts and Tribune Co," said
the source, who asked not to be identified because the
agreement has not been announced.

Tribune, which has been trying to sell the team for more
than two years to reduce the company's debt burden, declined to
comment, and a Ricketts family spokesman also declined to
comment.

The Ricketts family, led by Chicago investment banker Tom
Ricketts, agreed in January to buy the team and other assets
for $900 million.

"The terms are very similar," the source said. "It's
slightly less than that."

The Rickettses' financing package had already been
submitted to Major League Baseball, which now must review the
final agreement. Seventy-five percent of the league's 30 owners
must approve a deal and then the bankruptcy court must sign off
before the Ricketts family can take control of the team.

The deal could close in August, although a later time frame
is possible as the deal's terms will be presented to Tribune
creditors to gain their support before the offer is officially
submitted to the bankruptcy court, the source said. The court's
approval process alone could take two to four weeks, bankruptcy
attorneys have said.

The agreement still includes Tribune retaining a stake in
the Cubs of up to 5 percent as a way to minimize its tax bill
on the deal, the source said.

Sports franchises' values have been hurt by the recession
and tighter credit markets. Analysts initially had expected the
Cubs to draw bids topping $1 billion.

Buyers are eager to take control of the National League
team, which despite not winning a World Series title since 1908
has a huge fan base helped by its "lovable losers" image and
national exposure on cable TV.

A final deal had been held up by disagreements over the
value of Cubs' broadcast contracts and other items, as well as
the Rickettses' efforts to obtain financing.

Tribune Co filed for bankruptcy in December due to its
heavy debt load and the weak U.S. publishing sector. It put the
Cubs, the team's famous Wrigley Field home and a 25 percent
stake in a local sports TV network on the block in April 2007,
when Tribune agreed to an $8.2 billion buyout led by real
estate magnate Sam Zell.

Last month, Tribune reopened talks with private equity
investors Marc Utay and Leo Hindery in a move that some
analysts saw as a way to pressure Ricketts, CEO of Chicago
investment bank Incapital LLC and son of the founder of TD
Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD.O), into settling on terms
desired by the media company.

Another team for sale, the Texas Rangers, is likely to put
out financial data soon for potential buyers to peruse,
according to a source familiar with that process. Bids of $550
million are likely, sports bankers and baseball officials
said.

Rangers owner and Texas billionaire Tom Hicks hopes to have
bids for the Rangers by mid-August, although negotiations and
financing could result in a deal not closing until after the
season, the source said.

Hicks said in May he was willing to sell control of the
team. In April, creditors declared Hicks Sports Group, which
owns the Rangers and Dallas Stars hockey team, in default on
$525 million in loans.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman, editing by Matthew Lewis)