Hersch Klaff of Klaff Realty is making a bid for the rights to the Chicago Cubs. With all of the negative press that real estate has gotten in recent months, I am taking this bit of news as a breath of fresh air.
Klaff Realty is known for acquiring distressed retail / office space. Obviously, Mr. Klaff sees value in the Chicago Cubs, who haven't won the World Series since 1908. Although I am sure that Hersch is a sports fan, I think that he also sees value in this franchise. With bids expected to exceed $1 billion, it's apparent that each one of these investors wishes to be the one to bring a World Series Championship back to the Chicago Cubs who haven't won it all for 99 years.
9 other parties also see value in this opportunity and are competing with Mr. Klaff, so at this point the auction has just begun. According to reports, the Chicago Tribune, who currently own the rights to the team, will not finalize the deal until the conclusion of the 2008 season. Their goal is to have the deal close by the end of the calendar year, or the first part of 2009.
Only 5 of the 10 parties that are currently bidding will be honored to make it to the next round. Something tells me that Mr. Klaff is going to move forward. With Klaff Realty stationed in Chicago, I am sure that he is considering his investment group to be one of the front runners. His business is rehabilitating distressed properties and making them profitable. Not to say that the Chicago Cubs are a distressed organization, but the Tribune Company is restructuring it's portfolio and has decided to unload the historic organization.
What a chance to both make some money and get a little fame. If there are 10 groups in the running for the chance to take over the reigns, the juice must be worth the squeeze. If I had the money, I would be number 11...
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