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Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein has reached an agreement to buy the Baltimore Orioles for $1.725 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
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The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday evening because the deal had not been announced. Rubenstein, a Baltimore native, would take over as majority owner of the team, and he has assembled an investment team that includes Ares co-founder Michael Arougheti.
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The Angelos family has controlled the Orioles since 1993, when Peter Angelos purchased the team for $173 million. Angelos’ son, John, is the current president of the team. The team recently reached an agreement on another lease extension at Camden Yards. Maryland officials approved the long-term deal after months of negotiations.
The agreement extends the lease for 30 years, with the possibility of terminating it after 15 years if the team does not receive approval from state officials for development plans next to the ballpark.
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Before founding Carlyle in 1987, Rubenstein practiced law in Washington. From 1977 to 1981, he served as deputy assistant for domestic policy to President Jimmy Carter. After graduating from Duke in 1970, he attended the University of Chicago Law School.
The sales agreement, which requires approval from major league owners, was first reported by Puck.
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The Orioles are coming off a 101-win season and their first AL East title since 2014. With young stars like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson – and another prospect on the way in Jackson Holliday – the future looks as bright as he was in a while for a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1983.
One of the sore points for fans is the club’s payroll, which has remained low, and it has once again been a quiet offseason for the team so far. If the new ownership group is able to keep Baltimore’s young core together, the Orioles could be in for a long period of contention.
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When Peter Angelos first took over the Orioles, they had recently begun playing at Camden Yards, the downtown venue that revolutionized the way baseball parks were built. The Orioles spent aggressively, at least for a little while, and won the division in 1997 with future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Mike Mussina and Harold Baines.
After that, Baltimore didn’t make the playoffs again until 2012, when the Orioles began a renaissance under Buck Showalter. They ultimately had to rebuild again, losing at least 108 games in 2018, 2019 and 2021 – a streak interrupted only by the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Even though the team posted the best record in the American League last year, there were some worrying signs, such as a New York Times article in which Angelos was quoted as saying, “When people talk about giving away $200 million to this player, to that player 150 million dollars. , we would be in such financial difficulty that prices would have to be massively increased.”
A sale must be approved by a vote of at least 75% of the 30 major league teams. The sales approval process typically takes several months.
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2024-02-01 11:34:39
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