The Orioles just signed a long-term lease with the state of Maryland to stay at Camden Yards, and now, it looks like they’ll soon be doing so with new ownership.
According to sports business insider John Ourand of Puck News, the Angelos family has reportedly agreed to sell the Orioles to hedge fund billionaires David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti for $1.725 billion.
Ourand’s report states Rubenstein and Arougheti will initially purchase 40 percent of the club, with the rest to be purchased following Peter Angelos' death – and per Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner, Cal Ripken Jr. is part of the incoming group, which includes “Maryland leaders, philanthropists and sports legends.”
The deal is expected to be detailed to other owners at next week’s MLB owners' meetings in Orlando, according to Ourand, but there is no estimated timetable for the deal to be closed.
Rubenstein, a Baltimore native, has had interest in purchasing the team before, and per reports, he would be the main decision maker of the ownership group. He is a co-founder of The Carlyle Group with an estimated net worth around $3.7 billion, according to Forbes. He is also on the board of The Kennedy Center, although he will retire from that position next January.
Arougheti, a New Yorker, is the co-founder of Ares Management Corp., and his role is unknown.
Peter Angelos purchased the Orioles for $173 million in 1993 from venture capitalist Eli Jacobs, and Sportico's Eben Novy-Williams reports that the reason for this sale being structured around his death is due to tax implications – if the team sells while Peter is alive, it could cost the family hundreds of millions of dollars in capital gains taxes, some of which would be decreased if the team is sold after his death.
The sale could also have a big effect on the Orioles’ regional neighbors, the Nationals, in terms of TV rights. The Orioles also own about 75 percent of Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, with the Nats owning the rest, and the structure of MASN has been an issue in sales attempts by both teams - and there has been contention between the two franchises in terms of payouts to the Nats.
As 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen tweeted, the Nats ‘desperately need out of the debilitating MASN deal,’ and doing so ‘could jump start a sale or at the least could lead to way better TV situation for Washington.’