Sells Meeting Shattered As MLB Ownership Committee Approves Orioles Sale To David Rubenstein in pivotal step toward finalising purchase
BALTIMORE – A source with direct knowledge of the committee’s actions confirmed to The Baltimore Sun that Major League Baseball’s ownership committee unanimously approved the sale of a controlling stake in the Orioles to private equity billionaire David Rubenstein, a critical step towards finalising the purchase.
The agreement between Rubenstein, who will become the Orioles’ “control person” in the eyes of MLB, and the Angelos family, who have owned a controlling share in the team since 1993, must still be authorised by the league’s owners. The transaction must be approved by at least 23 of the 30 MLB owners before it can be finalised. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the approval had not yet been publicly disclosed.
The ownership group, chaired by Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton, approved the arrangement by a vote of nine members. Typically, the committee creates a report, after which an eight-owner executive council votes on the sale. The Orioles’ chairman and CEO, John Angelos, is not a member of the council, which is led by Commissioner Rob Manfred.
It is unknown when the final vote will take place, though a regular meeting is not required and can be held via conference or video call. An Orioles representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment. An MLB spokesman declined to comment.
Sources have told The Sun that the transaction is expected to be authorised sooner than most – maybe before opening day on March 28 – since Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group and a Baltimore native, is a well-known public figure who has long wanted to acquire an MLB team. Such clearances, which involve a review of the buyers’ histories and financing, generally take several months.
In late January, the Angelos family agreed to sell the Orioles to a group led by Rubenstein in a deal worth $1.725 billion. In 1993, now-ailing family patriarch Peter Angelos, 94, paid $173 million for the club. Forbes estimates Rubenstein’s net worth at $3.7 billion.
