The Lerner family has begun the process of "exploring potential changes" in the ownership structure of the Washington Nationals, which includes "the possibility of selling the team," according to Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post, in a bombshell report published Monday afternoon.
Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner tells The Post that the family has hired New York investment bank Allen & Company to research potential investors, and possibly buyers, for the club. It's the same investment bank that managed the sale of the New York Mets to Steven Cohen, who purchased the MLB club for $2.4 billion in 2020, as well as the NFL's Carolina Panthers in 2017. Allen & Company has also recently been hired to manage the sale of the Denver Broncos.
"This is an exploratory process, so there is no set timetable or expectation of a specific outcome," Mark Lerner told The Post. "The organization is as committed as ever to their employees, players, fans, sponsors and partners and to putting a competitive product on the field."
"The team said no options have been eliminated," Svrluga writes. "Though a full transfer of ownership is possible, the Lerners also could bring on additional partners, team spokeswoman Jennifer Giglio said."
Ted Lerner, now 96, and his wife, Annette, purchased the club from Major League Baseball for $450 million in 2006. The league had moved it from Montreal to D.C. in 2005, renaming the former Expos franchise the Nationals. Forbes recently valued the Nationals at $2 billion — a four percent increase from the year prior — making it the 12th most valuable of MLB's 30 franchises.
Ted Lerner ceded managing control of the club to his son, Mark, in 2018. At the time, Mark Lerner told The Post: "We will never sell the Nationals."
"That’s what we've worked to get all those years. We think we do a pretty good job of it," he also said at the time. "There's no intention of this family — certainly while I'm alive and my sisters and brothers-in-law are alive — nobody's going to sell this team."
Svrluga points out that the Lerner family built its fortune off commercial real estate in the D.C. region, an industry which has taken a massive financial hit since the onset of the global pandemic in 2020. Responding to a question from The Post about whether the pandemic's impact on the family's finances factored into the decision to explore a potential sale, the team said the Lerners' "real estate business continues to thrive."
"As revenue streams around professional sports continue to evolve and the strength of the Washington Nationals brand continues to grow, the team believes it is prudent to assess all of the options out there," Giglio told The Post.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.