Endeavor has reached an agreement to sell its professional development league business, Diamond Baseball Holdings, to investment firm Silver Lake, Endeavor’s lead investor, for $280 million.
DBL operates under Endeavor “to bring value to local Major League Baseball-affiliated minor league clubs through professional management, best practices, innovation and investment,” the company said. But, “Ultimately, our relationship with MLB and the MLBPA was prioritized given the importance of our overall agency business and our continued investment in our baseball representation practice within WME Sports. ”
“Silver Lake will be a great partner for these clubs in the future, given their deep understanding of the business and their incredible track record of investing in sports intellectual property,” he said.
Pat Battle and Peter Freund will continue to lead the PDL business as Executive Chairman and CEO of Diamond Baseball Holdings, respectively.
Diamond Baseball’s ten clubs include: Iowa Cubs (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs); Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals); Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees); Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees); San Jose Giants (Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants); Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves); Mississippi Braves (Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves); Rome Braves (High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves); Augusta GreenJackets (Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves); Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers).
“We look forward to working closely with Silver Lake and building on our momentum to defend Minor League Baseball,” Battle and Freund said. “After several months of invaluable support and guidance from Endeavor in building this organization, and now into the proven Silver Lake portfolio, the entire DBH organization is excitedly focused on this next phase of aggressive business growth.”
Silver Lake General Manager Stephan Evans said, “Since its launch, DBH has established a leadership position in minor league baseball, with its clubs playing a central role in local communities across the United States. We are delighted to partner with Pat, Peter and their team. to help further DBH’s mission.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022
Endeavor releases its quarterly results on Thursday.
