Post by Vegas on Sept 1, 2011 20:47:20 GMT -5
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has reportedly been offered $1.2 billion to sell the team to Los Angeles Marathon founder Bill Burke.
A letter to McCourt outlining the offer was disclosed to The Los Angeles Times by sources close to the situation. The letter states that the offer would be funded in part by Chinese investors.
"I have no comment at this time," Burke told the newspaper.
The sales price would be a record for a major league franchise, breaking the mark set two years ago when the Ricketts family paid $845 million to buy the Chicago Cubs from Tribune Co.
The bid would expire in 21 days and would be subject to approval by the court overseeing the Dodgers bankruptcy case and Major League Baseball, the letter states. The letter does not specify if McCourt's ex-wife, Jamie McCourt, would have to approve the deal. But she has already asked courts for an immediate sale of the team.
Specifics weren't given on the foreign investors except to characterize them as "certain state-owned investment institutions of the People's Republic of China," the newspaper reports.
The participation of overseas investors in the team's ownership would not be unprecedented, with the Seattle Mariners' ownership group including a significant Japanese presence.
In 2004, Burke and his partner sold the L.A. Marathon, which was subsequently bought from Devine Racing in 2008 by none other than Frank McCourt.
The Times also reported Thursday that court filings show that the McCourts recently sold one of the two homes they own near the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles for $6.525 million. The McCourts are disputing how the proceeds should be used, according to the report.
A letter to McCourt outlining the offer was disclosed to The Los Angeles Times by sources close to the situation. The letter states that the offer would be funded in part by Chinese investors.
"I have no comment at this time," Burke told the newspaper.
The sales price would be a record for a major league franchise, breaking the mark set two years ago when the Ricketts family paid $845 million to buy the Chicago Cubs from Tribune Co.
The bid would expire in 21 days and would be subject to approval by the court overseeing the Dodgers bankruptcy case and Major League Baseball, the letter states. The letter does not specify if McCourt's ex-wife, Jamie McCourt, would have to approve the deal. But she has already asked courts for an immediate sale of the team.
Specifics weren't given on the foreign investors except to characterize them as "certain state-owned investment institutions of the People's Republic of China," the newspaper reports.
The participation of overseas investors in the team's ownership would not be unprecedented, with the Seattle Mariners' ownership group including a significant Japanese presence.
In 2004, Burke and his partner sold the L.A. Marathon, which was subsequently bought from Devine Racing in 2008 by none other than Frank McCourt.
The Times also reported Thursday that court filings show that the McCourts recently sold one of the two homes they own near the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles for $6.525 million. The McCourts are disputing how the proceeds should be used, according to the report.
