Twins ownership update: ‘The sale is a lot closer to the end than to the beginning’

BleedGopher

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Per Phil:

The Twins’ play on the field during May has given the team an opportunity to pull off its ultimate goal later this summer.

The Twins’ ownership has done the same.

Potential buyers of the franchise have visited Minneapolis over the past 2-3 weeks to tour Target Field and meet with the Pohlad family and the team’s executives, a sign that progress is being made toward a sale, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the process.

Several parties have shown interest in making an offer, one such source said, and the process is now in “the latter stages” of due diligence and fact-gathering.

“The sale is a lot closer to the end than to the beginning,” that source said.

The Pohlad family, which has owned the team since Carl Pohlad purchased it from Calvin Griffith for $44 million in 1984, announced in October that they were exploring a possible sale. Carl Pohlad’s three sons, who inherited the team when he died in 2009, and seven grandchildren are seeking at least $1.5 billion, according to multiple reports.

A sale appeared imminent in December and January, when Justin Ishbia, a billionaire mortgage lender and co-owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, declared his interest in the Twins and met with several prominent Minnesotans to explore the franchise and find potential investors to partner with.

Ishbia’s aggressive pursuit scared off other potential buyers, one source said, because when he abruptly announced in February that he was increasing his stake in the Chicago White Sox instead, “new parties immediately came into the [Twins’] sale process.”


Win Twins!!
 


The Athletic chimes in:

Twins making ‘progress’ on sale of club, Pohlads sticking to $1.7 billion price: Sources​


Though the Minnesota Twins are making progress in finding potential buyers, the Pohlad family remains firm in its desire for a $1.7 billion price tag, potentially extending the process.

A person briefed on the Twins’ pivot since Chicago billionaire Justin Ishbia abandoned his bid to buy the club in late January described the team’s headway as “good” and the potential backers as “high quality parties,” saying the groups included multiple anchor/lead investors.

But with the Twins sticking to their asking price and concerns from interested parties about the team’s future revenues, the end game remains fluid more than 7 1/2 months after the Pohlads announced they would explore selling the team.

New York City-based capital market company Allen & Company is handling the sale of the club, which Carl Pohlad bought from Calvin Griffith for $44 million in 1984. In March, the Twins were estimated to be worth between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion by Forbes and Sportico, respectively.

“There’s no deadline,” the source said Tuesday. “We’re dealing with multiple parties, and whoever gets to the finish line first will be the winning party. (The Pohlads are) prepared to wait until the right deal comes along.”

A winning bid could materialize at any time.

The team was confident enough in its worth in March to deem an interested party’s $1.5 billion valuation as a non-starter. Still, multiple people with knowledge of the sale process said potential buyers noted several concerns.

First and foremost is the potential for an MLB owners lockout after the 2026 season concludes, a disruption that would immediately impact revenue for a new owner. Those sources also noted the loss of broadcast revenue associated with the team moving on from FanDuel Network, to Twins TV, an MLB-based product, after its most recent contract expired.

Another concern: the $425 million-plus of debt accrued during the Pohlad’s tenure as owners, according to multiple people briefed on the sale process, which is one of the highest figures among MLB’s 30 teams.

Throughout the process, the Twins have had plenty of limited partners show interest in purchasing the club, a source briefed on the matter said. Limited partners can provide significant funding for some ownership groups but rarely have control over a club. Attracting anchors or lead investors, to front the smaller groups of investors, a requirement of any sale, is taking time.


Win Twins!!
 


Has shooter had any inside information, ever?
Probably not. But it's more than a little curious that there's been no noise on a sale for weeks and right after a negative report comes out, the Twins beat writer offers a positive counterpoint right after that.
 



Probably not. But it's more than a little curious that there's been no noise on a sale for weeks and right after a negative report comes out, the Twins beat writer offers a positive counterpoint right after that.
Reusse actually mentioned last week on a podcast that there is a local group seeking a bid, with a strong possibility that the Pohlad family retains a minority 20-25% stake to make it work
 




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