CHICAGO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved the sale of Sun-Times Media Group to a group of Chicago businessmen led by James Tyree.

    According to sources of Sun-Times Media Group, the sale is expected to close by the end of October.

    Tyree's group, STMG Holdings LLC, offered about 25 million U.S. dollars, 5 million dollars in cash and about 20 million dollars in liabilities, to purchase the publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and its 50-plus sister papers.

    The bid came with a request for steep pay cuts and other concessions from 16 unions, 14 of which have approved the contract changes.

    The closing remains contingent upon approvals by the two other bargaining units, which are expected to be reached in the coming days, the company said.

    "We're very pleased and very excited with this result," said Sun-Times Media Group interim CEO Jeremy Halbreich. "It could not have happened without the dedication and hard work of our employees."