The owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers say the team is now worth $2.5 billion, according to people with knowledge of the effort to sell a minority stake in the baseball club. They asked to be anonymous because the matter is private.
The Dodgers’ six owners -- Mark Walter, Todd Boehly, Bobby Patton, Magic Johnson, Peter Guber and team Chief Executive Officer Stan Kasten -- bought the team in 2012 for $2.15 billion, making it the first professional sports team to sell for more than $2 billion.
Widely considered the most valuable team in baseball after the New York Yankees, the Dodgers benefit from a rich local TV deal. Time Warner Cable, now owned by Charter Communications Inc., bought the team’s broadcast rights in 2012 for $8.3 billion over 25 years.
The deal set a new high-water mark and rattled many cable and satellite providers. At an average $340 million a year, the Dodgers earn more than double the next closest teams, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Texas Rangers, which each get about $150 million a year. Next is the Seattle Mariners, who get about $115 million.
There’s no timetable for the Dodgers to add an investor. The owners haven’t decided how big a stake they will sell, only that they won’t surrender control of the club. New York-based Galatioto Sports Partners to manage the sale process.
Galatioto Sports Partners founder Sal Galatioto and Kasten declined to comment on the team’s valuation.
To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Paul Barbagallo
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