Tribune Co confirms 5 bidders for Cubs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tribune Co confirmed on Tuesday it has selected five bidders for the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Chief Executive Sam Zell told lenders on a conference call: "We expect to present a deal to the MLB (Major League Baseball) some time before the end of the year."

Zell said other bidders have expressed interest in buying the Wrigley Field baseball stadium.

The publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune aims to sell off some assets including the Cubs to pay down Tribune's debt. It has an additional $593 million in debt due June 2009 after recently paying $807 million due December 2008.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li)