Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has reportedly reached an agreement to sell his franchise for $1.2 billion to the bidding group helmed by former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and venture capitalist Bruce Sherman, a source told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
The commissioner's office is expected to receive the purchase agreement, a product of months of negotiating, on Friday, and MLB officials will discuss the sale in owners meetings in Chicago next week.
When the sale is finalized, Sherman will serve as the "control person," effectively functioning as the managing general partner, while Jeter, the five-time World Series champion and 14-time All-Star who is believed to have contributed only $25 million of his own money toward the purchase, will handle the club's baseball and business operations. All told, their ownership group comprises about 16 investors, one of them being NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Incumbent team president David Samson and president of baseball operations Michael Hill are expected to stay with the club under the new ownership, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Loria, the much maligned former Montreal Expos owner who bought the Marlins for $158.5 million in 2002, reportedly received an offer of more than $1.3 billion in May from the bidding group fronted by Tagg Romney and Hall of Famer Tom Glavine. Jorge Mas, the Miami-born chairman of MasTec, was also interested in buying the team.
