The Tribune Co. could look much different a year from today now that Chicago investor and billionaire Sam Zell has won the long bidding war to win controlling interest in the parent company of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune and a string of TV stations.

But what it is going to look like is anybody’s guess.

Under the terms of the $7.9 billion deal, announced this morning, the new entity will be selling the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field as well as the company’s interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago after the 2007 season.

The big question: What will become of its media properties?

Already some media analysts are speculating that some newspapers could be on the block, including the embattled Los Angeles Times. Zell says he has no plans to break up the company.

"It’s really difficult to say because the industry is in such a state of flux," said Len Kubas of Kubas Consultants, a Toronto-based newspaper consulting firm.

"Who would have predicted McClatchy would have sold the Minneapolis Star Tribune, their biggest and flagship newspaper? Promises that are made at the time the deal is negotiated can change. They are opening the door for folks in Los Angeles and the LA Times may be sold off."

Zell, a billionaire who has never run a newspaper before, is investing $315 million into the struggling organization, which will eventually give him ownership of 40 percent of Tribune’s common stock and the board chairmanship in what will become a private company.

Employees will purchase $250 million of newly issued Tribune common stock for $28 per share when the merger closes, which is expected by year’s end. The Chandler Trusts have agreed to vote in favor of the proposal.

Zell beat out Los Angeles billionaire investors Eli Broad and Ron Burkle, who many speculate are interested in the Los Angeles Times.

Not unlike most newspaper companies, the Tribune has been struggling with declining profits, circulation and advertising. "It’s going to be easier for Zell because employees are part owners and they have a vested interest," Kubas says.

While it’s premature to say what papers may or may not be sold, Kubas says that change is certain.

"It’s certainly not going to stay the same, and we know that for a fact because of the Cubs sale at the end of the season," he says.

"A dismantling is taking place. A year from now it may have many of the same characteristics but it’s not going to be the same company. Having a new owner from outside the industry might be a very good way of looking at it."

But longtime newspaper analyst John Morton sees little change taking place.

"For now we will have to take him at his word that the only spinoffs will be the Cubs and the interest in the sport network," Morton tells Media Life.