Orioles sold for $1.7b
- Thread starter DeadlySplitter
- Start date
Private equity types have a pretty mixed record when it comes to improving the companies they buy. But if they are "lifelong Orioles fans" (Rubenstein probably is?) then yeah.
Should be
Born in Balmer and went to HS there (was 17 in 1966) before moving on to Duke and then UoC law school
If the new owners make it a top priority to lock up all the young talent with extensions….fuck. That’s where it’s bad for the Red Sox.
Well, that would be better for Baltimore than just squandering it all, but there are still a million possible outcomes, our own youth movement, etc. I'm not worried.
Or even if they open the pocketbook a little and add to the young cheap talent. I'd like to say I'm happy for O's fans... but I hate this system that encourages massive tanks.
Eh. MLB seems more resistant to tanking impacts than other professional leagues. The Orioles have done a good job with their farm system.
Without question they have. And finally getting into the bidding wars for international players helped too. But, even though you are right and tanking in MLB has less immediately tangible results than, say, the NBA, it still provides you with more raw material to work with in the farm system and is likely to spit out more useful cheap players a few years down the road.
Do I have a solution for this? No. My favourite model is to give the #1 pick to the best team that did not make the playoffs, then work down to the last place team, then from the worst playoff team to the best. But there are issues with that approach as well, notably the worst teams would stay mired at the bottom longer, and the possible scenario where a team who could scrape into the playoffs loses their last 5 games, misses the playoffs and gets a #1 pick - and then controversy swirls "Was it intentional?!?" Anyway I don't want to derail the thread so I will stop, sorry.
$1.725 billion for the Orioles is, well, wow.
I wonder how much of that value is the sweetheart deal that Selig gave Angelos for the regional network (MASN) to defuse his objections to a Washington team.
I wonder how much of that value is the sweetheart deal that Selig gave Angelos for the regional network (MASN) to defuse his objections to a Washington team.
Breaking this out of the offseason megathread.
Rubenstein and his partners might or might not be good owners, but Rubenstein is certainly smart enough to know that buying the Orioles for $1.7b makes zero sense based on the sort of conventional business metrics that PE firms like Carlyle use to value businesses. I’m sure part of his plan is to be seen as a pillar of the community by being a much better steward of the Orioles than the Angelos family was — which is an insanely low bar. Maybe that opens other opportunities for him and is profitable; maybe it just feeds his ego. Regardless, it’s not a conventional private-equity play, so I don’t expect the Orioles to resemble a typical PE-owned business.
The Celtics seem to have done pretty well being mostly owned by private equity types.
A big-4 pro sports team isn't a conventional business so I fail to see why conventional business metrics would be used.
Just hearing about this but Angelos just signed a lease deal with the State of MD that includes some incentives for the State to give the team some development rights around the stadium. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/orioles-lease-heres-details-of-the-new-deal-YTQM2VF6RZEIBADJJCUI7VBNYI/. I wonder how much that went into the valuation. One of the incentives would be if the parties didn't reach a development deal, the lease could end after 15 years, which presumably means that the Os would be leaving - which also gives the Os a bunch of leverage.
Glad to see the Angelos family out of baseball.
Did you think about the money made in those 30 years...ticket sales, refreshments/merchandise, tv/radio?
I didn’t include dividends either and those didn’t have to be shared with Delaware North and didn’t have to pay employees or announcers.
Here are more details on the terms of the Rubenstein group’s purchase of the team.
https://theathletic.com/5242865/2024/02/01/baltimore-orioles-sale-valuation/?source=user_shared_article
The deal is 40% of the team now, plus the other 60% when Peter Angelos dies. The article makes it seem like this deferred sale is a tax-avoidance strategy for the Angelos family. I assume the Angelos family will be a silent partner during the period after closing until the old man’s death, but the article doesn’t say that. Wonder if the O’s would have fetched a materially higher price in a straight sale.
Edit: Adding that Angelos is 94 years old and ceded control of the team 4-5 years ago due to health issues. The parties may have reason to expect any period of co-ownership to be very short. It’s possible he won’t even live through the several months it will take to secure MLB approval of the deal.
https://theathletic.com/5242865/2024/02/01/baltimore-orioles-sale-valuation/?source=user_shared_article
The deal is 40% of the team now, plus the other 60% when Peter Angelos dies. The article makes it seem like this deferred sale is a tax-avoidance strategy for the Angelos family. I assume the Angelos family will be a silent partner during the period after closing until the old man’s death, but the article doesn’t say that. Wonder if the O’s would have fetched a materially higher price in a straight sale.
Edit: Adding that Angelos is 94 years old and ceded control of the team 4-5 years ago due to health issues. The parties may have reason to expect any period of co-ownership to be very short. It’s possible he won’t even live through the several months it will take to secure MLB approval of the deal.
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