Chicago Magnate Sam Zell Wins Tribune Co.

Chicago billionaire Sam Zell has won the auction for Tribune Co., the real estate magnate and media company said Monday.

Zell paid $34 a share, or $8.2 billion, meeting the company’s demand for a higher bid to match one from Los Angeles billionaires Ronald Burkle and Eli Broad, The Chicago Tribune reported.

The deal also includes plans to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team after the current season, the newspaper said.

The company will also sell its 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

The centerpiece of Zell’s plan is an employee stock ownership plan, which is to pay for much of the deal and has many tax benefits, The Wall Street Journal and New York Times said.

Zell has said he would leave current management in place.

The Tribune Co., founded in 1847, owns The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday and other newspapers and 23 television stations, as well as the Cubs. The company has about 20,000 employees.