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Chicago magnate Sam Zell wins Tribune Co.

CHICAGO, April 2 (UPI) -- Chicago billionaire Sam Zell has won the bidding for Tribune Co., the real estate magnate and media company said Monday.

Zell agreed to pay $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, Tribune said.

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Tribune also said it would sell its Chicago Cubs baseball team after the current season and its 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Zell, investing $315 million in the transaction, will become chairman of the newspaper and television company when the merger closes, Tribune said.

An employee stock ownership plan, which has many tax benefits, will hold all outstanding Tribune common stock, with Zell entitled to buy 40 percent, the company said.

The merger requires Tribune shareholder and regulatory approvals. Tribune said it hoped to close the deal by the end of the year.

Until the shareholder vote, Tribune's board will be permitted to consider "unsolicited alternative proposals that may lead to a superior proposal," Tribune said.

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.

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