Multiple offers in excess of US$1 billion have been tabled in the initial round of bidding in the auction for Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal, citing bankers handling the sale of the iconic franchise, reported that those submitting bids by Monday's deadline included media investor Leo Hindery and financier Marc Utay. A separate joint bid by developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, along with one that includes former Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten and former Los Angeles Lakers National Basketball Association star Magic Johnson, is also in the mix, according to the newspaper.
Intriguingly, Stan Kroenke, who owns the National Football League's St Louis Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche, Arsenal of the English Premier League and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids, is also reported to be in the running, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Dodgers were put up for sale by owner Frank McCourt in November, five months after the team filed for bankruptcy.
Initial bids for the team were due to be filed by Monday with the Blackstone Group, McCourt's investment banker. However, any further interest that emerges during this preliminary stage is likely to be considered as long as it receives the approval of the League. An agreement between McCourt and MLB means the team has to be sold by April 30, with experts predicting the sale is likely to exceed the record $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009.
More than 20 individuals, who make up more than a dozen bidding groups, have signed non-disclosure agreements with Blackstone Group. It is not known at this stage whether the Dodgers' local broadcast rights partner Fox, which was linked with an investment, has entered the auction or is backing another bidder.
Blackstone will now analyse the bids before forwarding a shortlist to the League. According to a disclosure statement filed on Friday with the team's reorganisation plan in the bankruptcy court, the Dodgers are $573 million in debt. However, the successful bidder will be able to negotiate a lucrative new broadcast agreement later this year, when the Dodgers' deal with Fox expires.
Source: http://www.sportbusiness.com