The Official Miami Marlins "Sale of the Team" Thread

[rmc523]

Two more articles came out last night...

http://nypost.com/2017/04/28/scaramu...n-marlins-bid/

The Bush-Jeter duo has expressed confidence privately that it will be able to secure the necessary financing, although a source said the two men were exasperated by reports this week that they had reached an agreement in principle to buy the team for $1.3 billion — reports they say are inaccurate.

Bush and Jeter, who don’t have an exclusive deal to buy the Marlins, believe the baseball team has been spreading misinformation including the terms of the bid, according to the source.

The source added that Bush and Jeter may decide, after conducting due diligence that has only just begun, that they do not even want to buy the money-losing team.

http://nypost.com/2017/04/29/how-mar...ve-never-seen/

Loria is in the kind of fiscal mess — with some in the game saying the team is $400 million in debt, with $75 million or more in possible losses this year and no ready avenues to borrow more money to finance the debt — that he will accept the fastest deal that meets his requests and he believes will be approved by the other owners.

Jeter’s group, which has bid $1.3 billion, is considered the front-runners and, as one involved person said, “Think how disappointed an already apathetic fan base will be if you think you are getting Jeter and end up with someone you have never heard of buying the team?” Nevertheless, there remained questions if Jeter and former Florida governor Jeb Bush could line up the investors to reach a magic figure and — if they do — if a deal can be structured to the liking of both Loria and MLB.

Remember that the group coming in not only has to have an extraordinary amount of money to complete a sale, but then run a team that lags seriously behind in areas such as local TV dollars, attendance and sponsorships. They could be looking at, say, $150 million-$200 million more in losses the first few years even under optimistic scenarios before a new business plan fully has a chance to reverse the team’s monetary fortunes. (Don’t forget that if they start to make more money, the Marlins would begin to lose what has been their lifeblood: revenue sharing dollars.)
Thus, without having plenty of capital on hand, a new ownership likely would have to go into the fourth significant fire sale in the organization’s 25-season history, which is no way to introduce yourself to a fan base that has stayed away, in part, because of the first three selloffs.

It is possible, therefore, that the Marlins’ sale price has a formula that recognizes the pitfalls. For example: Loria getting a check for $700 million, the new owners taking on the $400 million in debt and the new owners assuming $200 million in operating losses the next few years rather than Loria. Those spoken to in the game and in finance expect there will be some creative bookkeeping to get to the final number.

[Maddawg]

I'm no financial wizard but where does this $400 million debt come from ???? Loria only was supposed to pay $175 million of the stadium costs & that got spread out over 30 years in the form of rent. He's not spent enough to put himself in that kind of debt....where does this number come from ????

[rmc523]

I'm no financial wizard but where does this $400 million debt come from ???? Loria only was supposed to pay $175 million of the stadium costs & that got spread out over 30 years in the form of rent. He's not spent enough to put himself in that kind of debt....where does this number come from ????

I was wondering that myself, especially considering the financials before the stadium showed they were profitable. They've really accumulated that much in 4 years since then?

[tjfla]

I'm no financial wizard but where does this $400 million debt come from ???? Loria only was supposed to pay $175 million of the stadium costs & that got spread out over 30 years in the form of rent. He's not spent enough to put himself in that kind of debt....where does this number come from ????

Don't forget he got 30 million LY from the deal MLB signed plus 100 million every year from other teams

[fish16]

I'm no financial wizard but where does this $400 million debt come from ???? Loria only was supposed to pay $175 million of the stadium costs & that got spread out over 30 years in the form of rent. He's not spent enough to put himself in that kind of debt....where does this number come from ????

Ya, i dont know about that. Most sports teams dont actually make money, but owners make money based off appreciation of the franchise cause they appreciate so dramatically. 400 million, however, is kind of ridiculous. Micky Arison for example I think has made a profit on an annual basis once in his entire ownership tenure during 1 of the Lebron years, but he obviously has made an incredible amount of money because the franchise is probably worth well over a billion. 400 million sounds like a number put out there with an agenda.

[Nick]

Of course it's a fake number, these scummy mf'ers are on the verge of a 1.3 Billion dollar windfall and still want to play the victim.

[Maddawg]

I was wondering that myself, especially considering the financials before the stadium showed they were profitable. They've really accumulated that much in 4 years since then?

This doesn't make any sense. We know how cheap he is, Loria never "loses" money....something fishy (pun intended) aboutthis.

[fish16]

Of course it's a fake number, these scummy mf'ers are on the verge of a 1.3 Billion dollar windfall and still want to play the victim.

I dont fully understand the situation but I was thinking maybe it was a number thrown out by the Jeb/Jeter group to try to get them to take less. Maybe saying you are in so much debt and can no longer get loans so they will take less for the team overall?

Again, all this shit is so complicated and there is probably fake information being thrown out by both sides that it makes trying to interpret what is actually going on impossible. All I care about is this scumbag is no longer the owner and that is going to happen soon, so im just not going to pay attention to all this stuff.

[rmc523]

Some potentially big news per MLBTradeRumors (and other sources within their article):

We have heard some conflicting reports recently about just how likely it is that a Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush-led investment group will complete a purchase of the Marlins, but the latest signs point toward a deal. Most notably, the funding for the buyer’s group is now all lined up, according to Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal (via Twitter).

If the financials are indeed in order, that would represent quite a significant step. Last we heard, Jeter and Bush were looking for additional investors to join their team, but it seems that’ll no longer be an issue. Citibank is advising the would-be owners, Kaplan notes, and presumably will be involved in any financing that’s needed.

There’s also an important note on the reported $1.3B purchase price, which seems more accurately described as a valuation for purposes of the deal. Per Kaplan, that’ll be offset by the organization’s current debt and anticipated operating losses. Joel Sherman of the New York Post had previously noted that possibility while breaking down the significant numbers involved.

Such adjustments will also take a bite out of the share of the sale proceeds that Miami and Miami-Dade County could stand to earn, as Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald writes. So long as the deal closes by April of next year, five percent of the profits would be sent over to those municipalities — a clause in the deal in which the Marlins obtained massive public financial support for the construction of Marlins Park. But debt, closing costs, and taxes will all first be deducted, and the sale price will also be offset by the agreement’s valuation of the organization (per Hanks, that figures to stand at around $500MM). In other words, while it could still be a significant amount, there are some limits to how much the taxpayers can recoup.

Bush, meanwhile, had some very notable comments of his own, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports. Speaking for the first time, the former Florida governor — who’d be the official control person of the organization — discussed the groups vision. Most interestingly, perhaps, he suggested that Jeter might actually take over the baseball operations department, though certainly the details of just how that would work remain to be seen. Generally, he expressed an interest in “patiently” building a roster — no word yet on what that might mean at the outset of a new ownership — while pushing to take advantage of the Miami organization’s proximity to Latin America.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/...lins-sale.html

[rmc523]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/m...502-story.html

Per Dave Hyde, apparently Romney's group has upped their bid to larger than Bush/Jeter's.

Tagg Romney’s group has put in a bid larger than the $1.3 billion of the Bush/Jeter bid, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, though it is not believed to be significantly larger.


Both sides have known names. Both have a syndicate of investors — Romney’s group is smaller than Bush/Jeter, the source said. And, most important, both apparently have the money to buy the team.

“We have two very strong groups that we believe will have sufficient financial resources to complete the sale and run the team effectively,’’ baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday in a statement to the Sun Sentinel.

[rmc523]

The latest news is Dave Stewart has reportedly joined the Romney group...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/...f-marlins.html

Former D-backs general manager Dave Stewart has joined the Tagg Romney-led ownership group that is aiming to purchase the Miami Marlins from current owner Jeffrey Loria, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Major League Baseball officials have been informed that Stewart has been added to a group that already includes Hall of Fame lefty Tom Glavine, per Nightengale.

According to Nightengale, Stewart had initially assembled his own team of investors in an effort to purchase the Marlins but has now instead joined the Romney team. Moreover, Nightengale writes that it is believed that Stewart would run the Marlins’ baseball operations department if Romney’s group ultimately succeeds in buying the team. Specific details of the arrangement aren’t yet known and may not even be firmly established just yet, however; for instance, FanRag’s Robert Murray tweets that Stewart would be an advisor but would not have a direct seat in the front office. It’s possible that there are various scenarios being bandied about, though further clarity will surely emerge with MLB’s owners meetings looming later this month.

...

The Romney-led group and the Bush-Jeter group are reportedly the two most serious suitors for the Marlins, though FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported earlier today that there could be at least one more serious group in the mix: a team of investors led by Dana Pawlicki of Stonington Capital Partners. Heyman also noted, though, that Pawlicki’s group could also be vying to join up with one of the two perceived front-runners.

[emkayseven]

omfg no please, keep Dave Stewart far far away from this team

[rmc523]

omfg no please, keep Dave Stewart far far away from this team

You don't want Shelby Miller?

[fish16]

Holy hell Dave Stewart would be an absolute worst case scenario. How is he even allowed in a baseball stadium after what he did to the Dbacks let alone running a team. Manfred should ban him from baseball for the good of the game. That would be such a marlins thing to happen if we get rid of loria only to go to Dave Stewart.

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http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/ranking-the-five-worst-moves-of-the-dave-stewart-era-with-the-diamondbacks/

[Ralph]

Eh net worth worth is like 10 million and I doubt tag will let him run the baseball side.