Citing sources with knowledge of the negotiations, the New York Times reports that the Miami Marlins baseball team has reached a tentative buyout deal with a group including Jeb Bush and former Yankees captain Derek Jeter. However, both the Times and Bloomberg say that the agreement, valued at $1.3 billion, is not final.
If the MLB greenlights the transaction, current owner Jeffrey Loria stands to profit enormously from the billion-dollar deal. Loria, a New York art dealer, bought the Marlins for $158 million in 2002, while Forbes places the team’s current valuation at $940 million.
The MLB is reportedly enthused about the prospects of Jeter, who has made no secret of his wish to own a team, to join the ranks of owners, according to the Times. Meanwhile, Bloomberg says that neither Bush nor Jeter are likely to face issues with winning the league’s approval.
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Although the team opened a new ballpark in 2012, the Marlins have struggled to attract consistently large crowd to their games. Bloomberg reports that, with an average of 24,313 spectators per game, the Miami team’s audience size ranks only 24th out of all 30 MLB sides.
