Three groups, including one led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, have been approved to further negotiate a purchase of the San Diego Padres from John Moores.
Moores had a deal to sell the Padres to Jeff Moorad for $530 million, but the deal collapsed after former agent Moorad failed to garner enough support from MLB owners. Since the original sale the team has sold television rights for $1.2 billion and watched as the Dodgers were sold to Guggenheim Baseball Management for a record $2.15 billion. Those factors are expected to push the asking price of the Padres well beyond that original $530 million.
Besides a group led by the O’Malley family and other investors — an early bidder for the Dodgers as well — the other parties cleared by MLB to review the Padres’ books and enter into negotiations are led by hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and movie producer Thomas Tull, whose group includes Tony Gwynn.
RELATED STORIES: O’Malleys may make run at Padres; Moores puts San Diego Padres back on the market
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