CHICAGO (MCT) - Media investor Leo Hindery Jr. and Chicago real estate executive Hersch Klaff are the final two would-be buyers for the Chicago Cubs to be identified and confirmed by sources as among the five Tribune Co. has invited into the second round of bidding for the ballclub and related properties.

Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune, cut its field of contenders from 10 to five earlier this week. A leading criteria for those still involved in the auction was an indication that their valuation of the Cubs, Wrigley Field and the team's stake in the Comcast SportsNet Chicago cable TV sports channel could reach $1 billion or more.

The well-connected group led by Madison Dearborn Chairman John Canning, previously seen as a front-runner to land the franchise, was among those not invited to continue in the process. A source said Friday that the bid from Canning's group topped out at $800 million.

Hindery and Klaff join a field of contenders that includes entrepreneur and pro basketball owner Mark Cuban; Chicago-based Incapital LLC chief executive Tom Ricketts, who is the son of the founder of what is now TD Ameri-trade Holding Corp.; and Michael Tokarz, an Illinois native who heads MVC Capital Inc.

A spokesman for Hindery, who heads the New York private equity firm InterMedia Partners, declined comment.

Hindery previously ran the New York Yankees' cable TV channel and AT&T Broadband. He was a senior economic policy adviser to presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards and now advises Sen. Barack Obama's presidential cam-paign. He helped launch the YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) Network nearly seven years ago and ran it until 2004.

Klaff, a South African who came to Chicago in the 1970s as an accountant and turned to real estate in the 1980s, made his name buying up distressed Loop office and retail properties. Among his first deals was putting together a transaction to acquire and redevelop the old Marshall Field's annex building. He expanded to the suburbs, acquiring shuttered stores from troubled retailers such as Kmart and Montgomery Ward. More recently, Klaff took part in deals with Cerberus Capital Management LP and other investors to acquire parts of Albertson's Inc., Cub Foods and Mervyn's.

Messages left at Klaff's Chicago office were not returned.

A Tribune Co. spokesman declined comment on the secretive Cubs auction process and would neither confirm nor deny the identity of any bidders. But besides the five approved to take a closer look at financial data and meet with management, sources say there are three bidders for Wrigley Field alone that have been deemed credible enough to merit further consideration.

A source familiar with the thinking of Canning and his group of Chicago business leaders said it would be unlikely to go higher than its initial bid.

Providing insight into at least one group's thinking regarding the value of the Cubs and associated assets, the source said Canning's group believes Wrigley Field is in need of $300 million to $400 million in renovations, and any offer above $800 million would make the deal unprofitable.

Canning's group arrived at its valuation based on a combination of factors, including a multiple of 2.5 times reve-nues for the Cubs, which the group believes to be one of the highest multiples ever paid for a major-league baseball franchise, as well as $150 million to $200 million for the team's share of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The source said it also included a premium reflecting the team's unique status and following.

"To make the numbers work, you have to include many revenue-enhancing things that are overtly fan-unfriendly things, like significantly increasing ticket prices, selling naming rights to the stadium," the source said, asserting Canning's group doesn't want to do those things to increase its offer.

Chicago Tribune correspondents Sandra Jones and Michael Oneal contributed to this report.

(c) 2008, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.