NEWSLETTER
Well, here we go: Jorge Mas is going to be the next owner of the Miami Marlins.
The chariman and co-founder of MasTec, one of the largest complex infrastructure construction companies, is slated to buy the Miami Marlins for $1.17 billion from the art-dealer and current owner Jeffery Loria. Loria originally purchased the team for $158 million back in 2002, so he stands to make a pretty penny on the sale.
*OR*
Well, there it is: as expected/somewhat hoped, Derek Jeter’s group will be the next ownership group of the Miami Marlins.
Indeed, a group led by the former-New York Yankee and 14-time All-Star is slated to buy the Miami Marlins for $1.2 billion from the art-dealer and current owner Jeffery Loria. Loria originally purchased the tam for $158 million back in 2002, so he stands to make a pretty penny on the sale.
Remember those choose your own adventure stories? This is sort of like that. Yesterday, conflicting reports came out less than five hours apart. The first, from Forbes, reported that Jorge Mas had won the final bidding and was the somewhat surprising new owner of the Marlins. Then, later that night, The NY Post reported that Jeter’s group was closing in on a bid for slightly more money. Also: Michael Jordan is now in that group.
[Brett: And as I’m editing Michael’s post, there’s still another choice – apparently Jeb Bush has added Pitbull to his group, and now they’re still in the running, too! Lulz.]
The NY Post article does make mention of the $1.17 billion bid from Jorge Mas, but seems to believe that Jeter’s group/bid will ultimately be chosen. As I’m sure you can imagine, the highest bidder doesn’t just automatically win, so it’s possible that both of these bids are real and that there was a bit of assuming going on.
The commissioner originally wanted a new owner to be chosen before tonight’s All-Star game, but now they seem to believe that a resolution will come sometime next week. For now, we’ll have to wait and see who emerges as the new owners of the Miami Marlins.
Once it’s settled, the implications for the league will include not only another spike in valuations for teams, but also a bit more clarity on how the Marlins might proceed at the Trade Deadline.
