Business
Magic Johnson group to acquire Dodgers for $2 billion
“The problem with this strategy is that the more paid upfront by the broadcast deal, the less money is available for team operations. The more debt they take on, the more debt service is required, the less money that’s available for team operations. With the only beneficiary being the man walking out the door. A challenging result that baseball tried to avoid.”
The current record for a baseball franchise is the US$845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009. In England, Malcolm Glazer and his family took over the Manchester United soccer club in 2005 in a deal then valued at US$1.47 billion.
The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in late June, just days before the team was expected to miss payroll. The filing came after baseball Commissioner Bud Selig refused to approve a 17-year agreement between the Dodgers and Fox’s Prime Ticket subsidiary that would have been worth US$2 billion or more. MLB feared McCourt would use about half of an intended US$385 million cash advance to fund his divorce.
Los Angeles finished third in the NL West last season at 82-79, had just three sellouts and fell short of 3 million in home attendance in a full season for the first time since 1992. There was some concern among MLB officials about the financing of the Walter bid because some of the money was coming from insurance companies that are owned by Guggenheim. A person familiar with the baseball owners’ teleconference Tuesday said several team owners voiced that during the call. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because MLB did not make any announcements.
“The problem there is a fundamental problem as you go into an auction, and that is the absolute reliance on other people’s money,” Ganis said. “It means a lot of regulators. It means either shareholders or, depending on which insurance companies it’s coming from, the insured themselves.”
Kasten was hired as legal counsel of the Atlanta Braves and the NBA’s Hawks in 1976, and three years later became the NBA’s youngest general manager at 27. He was promoted to president of the Braves and Hawks in 1986 and also became president of the NHL’s Thrashers in 1999. After leaving the Atlanta teams in 2003, he became president of the Washington Nationals from 2006-10.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti had dinner with Kasten in Glendale, Ariz., the team’s spring training home.
“He’s very successful, very driven, relentless in his pursuit of excellence,” Colletti said. “He’s seen a lot and he’s won a lot.”
