It seems like years since the process of selling the Los Angeles Dodgers began. (In fact, it doesn’t just seem so, it is so.)
By next week, the winning bidder in the court-ordered process will be identified. As of Friday, the list was reduced to three. Bill Shaikin:
The three finalists include a group led by hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Patrick Soon-Shiong; a group led by Magic Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten; and St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
MLB owners will vote next week and McCourt has until April 6 to bring a sale agreement to U.S. Bankruptcy Court. There’s one final rub, though:
McCourt was offered between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion in the most recent round of bids. However, negotiations have not taken place, and it is uncertain how the purchase price might be affected if McCourt refuses to include the Dodger Stadium parking lots in the sale. McCourt has said he intends to sell the team but keep the lots, in accordance with his rights under his settlement with MLB.
It doesn’t seem to me as if any new Dodgers ownership group would want to buy the team and the stadium and not own the parking lots. This could be a real sticking point.
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