So much for having the inside track. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a group led by John Canning has not been invited to the second round of bidding for The Chicago Cubs.
Canning is chairman and co-founder of Madison Dearborn Capital Partners, and is known to have a close relationship to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. That friendship, however, apparently wasn’t enough to overcome a bid that reportedly did not approach the $1 billion floor established by other bidders. Such bids would set a record for sports franchises, although they also include Wrigley Field and a local sports cable channel.
As peHUB reported earlier this week, the Canning group included:
- Bruce Rauner, principal and chairman of buyout firm GTCR
- Dave Donnini, principal with GTCR
- Byron Trott, banker with Goldman Sachs known for his relationship with Warren Buffett.
- Michael Krasny, former CEO of current Madison Dearborn portfolio company CDW.
- Patrick Ryan, CEO of Aon Corp.
- Andy McKenna, who once served as Cubs chairman early in its ownership by Tribune Corp.
- Larry Levy, a Chicago-based restaurateur who supplies concessions to sporting facilities like Wrigley Field
- Michael Sacks, CEO of Grosvenor Capital Management
- Michael Ferro, founder of Click Commerce (sold to Illinois Tool Works).