Last month, it was reported that two former sports stars with connections to San Diego were getting involved in groups attempting to buy the San Diego Padres.
Sale Of San Diego Padres Down To Three Finalists
But Tony Gwynn and Phil Mickelson aren’t part of any of the three groups remaining in the bidding, according to Ken Rosenthal:
Three bidders remain, and Padres owner John Moores expects to select a buyer between Wednesday and Friday of next week, according to a source close to the sales process.
A group led by former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley is one of the finalists. Also in the running is a group led by Gary Jabara, founder of a wireless communications company in Orange County, the source said.
The source described one as a private equity investor from Los Angeles, but declined to identify him further. The LA Times’ Bill Shaikin reports the third finalist is Stephen Kaplan.
A fourth bidder – Thomas Tull, CEO of Legendary Pictures – was eliminated when he failed to reach the desired sale price, the source said.
Gwynn was part of Tull’s group. Mickelson’s group never got off the ground.
But perhaps the most interesting words in Rosenthal’s article are these:
The sale price for the Padres is expected to meet or exceed $800 million, the source said – $600 million for the club and $200 million for a portion of the team’s equity stake in FOX Sports San Diego.
That price would be the third-highest paid in recent years for a MLB team, just below the $845 million the Ricketts family paid for the Chicago Cubs. The price is likely that high because of the TV equity stake, which Rosenthal says will be increasing the Padres’ TV revenue from $15 million a year to $50 million a year.
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