Author Topic: The Nats are...For Sale?!?  (Read 26571 times)

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Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #1: April 11, 2022, 01:13:26 PM »
I don't get the Post. Can someone copy the article here?

Offline imref

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #2: April 11, 2022, 01:13:56 PM »

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #3: April 11, 2022, 01:33:11 PM »
They've hired an investment bank to research potential investors and buyers, according to Mark Lerner.

there's this on their finances:
Quote
the coronavirus pandemic put tremendous strain on the commercial real estate business. In 2016, Forbes placed Ted Lerner’s net worth at $5.5 billion. In 2020, it had decreased to $3.7 billion. Forbes places his current worth at $4.5 billion.

Asked whether the pandemic’s impact on the family’s finances played a role in this decision, the team said the Lerners’ “real estate business continues to thrive.” Still, because the 2020 baseball season was shortened and played without fans, revenue for MLB franchises took a massive hit as well.

Forbes values the franchise at $2 billion, #12 in MLB. The article also says this about the grandkids:
Quote
Ted and Annette Lerner’s grandchildren grew up during the family’s stewardship of the Nationals. Now in their 30s, at least four of them are involved in the family business. Many people who work for and with the club long have figured that generation eventually would take over. Giglio said the next generation “are enthusiastic supporters of the Nationals and are ready, willing and able to lead. But they also support this process of assessing options.”

Sort of sounds like they have taken a financial hit, it looks like the Nats are a good chunk of their net worth, and that there may be some issues with the grandkids not wanting to be locked into the business.

Offline Kevrock

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #4: April 11, 2022, 01:33:23 PM »
I don't get the Post. Can someone copy the article here?

The family of real estate magnate Ted Lerner, which 16 years ago purchased the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball and oversaw a rebuilding process that eventually resulted in a World Series championship, has begun the process of exploring potential changes in the club’s ownership structure, including the possibility of selling the team.
Mark D. Lerner, Ted Lerner’s son who now serves as the club’s managing principal owner, told The Washington Post in a statement that the family has hired New York investment bank Allen & Company to research potential investors, and possibly buyers, for the Nationals.
“This is an exploratory process, so there is no set timetable or expectation of a specific outcome,” Mark Lerner said in the statement. “The organization is as committed as ever to their employees, players, fans, sponsors and partners and to putting a competitive product on the field.”
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The team said no options have been eliminated. Though a full transfer of ownership is possible, the Lerners also could bring on additional partners, team spokeswoman Jennifer Giglio said.
“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 said.
Still, the Lerners’ announcement puts the Nationals’ direction in question — in the short and long term. The Nationals have one of the best young players in the sport in outfielder Juan Soto, and it is unclear how the announcement will affect negotiations for a long-term contract extension for the 23-year-old. The team also is involved in a years-long dispute over revenue from Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which broadcasts Nationals games but is controlled by the Baltimore Orioles.
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“This process does not impact the team’s ability to make baseball decisions,” Giglio said. “It will not distract the organization from our goal of being a first-class organization and fielding a winning team.”
Ted Lerner, 96, transferred day-to-day control of the team to Mark Lerner in 2018. But regardless of whose name was atop the organizational flow chart, the family — which includes Ted’s wife, Annette; daughters Debra Lerner Cohen and Marla Lerner Tanenbaum; and sons-in-law Edward Cohen and Robert Tanenbaum — always has made decisions by consensus. That included the pursuit of Washington’s NFL franchise in 1999; the league eventually chose Daniel Snyder.
The decision to begin a process that could result in the sale of the team represents an about-face for the family.
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“We will never sell the Nationals,” Mark Lerner told The Post in 2018, when he took on his current role. “That’s what we’ve worked to get all those years. We think we do a pretty good job of it. 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.”
Ted Lerner built his real estate empire beginning in the 1950s. He sold homes for developers before developing properties himself. The Lerners helped develop massive Tysons Corner Center in northern Virginia as well as other shopping destinations throughout the D.C. region, including Tysons II and Dulles Town Center.
But the coronavirus pandemic put tremendous strain on the commercial real estate business. In 2016, Forbes placed Ted Lerner’s net worth at $5.5 billion. In 2020, it had decreased to $3.7 billion. Forbes places his current worth at $4.5 billion.
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Asked whether the pandemic’s impact on the family’s finances played a role in this decision, the team said the Lerners’ “real estate business continues to thrive.” Still, because the 2020 baseball season was shortened and played without fans, revenue for MLB franchises took a massive hit as well.
Ted and Annette Lerner’s grandchildren grew up during the family’s stewardship of the Nationals. Now in their 30s, at least four of them are involved in the family business. Many people who work for and with the club long have figured that generation eventually would take over. Giglio said the next generation “are enthusiastic supporters of the Nationals and are ready, willing and able to lead. But they also support this process of assessing options.”
From the archives: For owner Ted Lerner, Nationals’ World Series berth is a family celebration
In 2006, the Lerners paid $450 million to buy the club from Major League Baseball, which had moved it from Montreal to the nation’s capital in 2005. Their winning bid edged out those from seven other groups and was championed by then-commissioner Bud Selig because of the family’s deep local roots and pledge to be fiscally responsible stewards of the game for a city that had gone more than three decades without big-league baseball.
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The transition from running malls and other commercial projects was bumpy at times. The family gained a reputation within the organization for questioning every expenditure, from travel expenses for scouts to stopwatches for minor league coaches to extra bats for players.
“In the real estate business and in some of our other businesses, there seems to be some sanity to it,” Ted Lerner said in 2007 during a forum at his alma mater, George Washington University. “People continue asking me the question, ‘Are you having fun?’ The answer is, ‘On occasion.’ I finally found out what ‘24/7’ means.”
But following a development plan originally laid out by Stan Kasten, who was the team’s president from 2006 to 2010, and General Manager Mike Rizzo, the Nationals became consistent contenders. From 2012 to 2019, the team won four National League East division championships and appeared in the postseason five times, winning more regular season games than any team but the Los Angeles Dodgers in that span. That culminated in the breakthrough during the 2019 playoffs, when the wild-card Nationals romped through October to the World Series title, beating the Houston Astros in seven games.
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Throughout that run of success, the Lerners also committed resources to the major league payroll. In 2010, they surprised their competitors by signing free agent outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million deal — the first nine-figure contract the family had issued. In 2012, they re-signed Ryan Zimmerman, the first draft pick in franchise history, to a six-year, $100 million extension, and in 2015 they landed star pitcher Max Scherzer on a seven-year, $210 million deal. After Stephen Strasburg was named MVP of the World Series, the Lerners committed $245 million over seven years to the pitcher.
Though homegrown stars such as outfielder Bryce Harper and third baseman Anthony Rendon have left in free agency and the club last year began a new rebuilding process by trading Scherzer and all-star shortstop Trea Turner, investors — and potential buyers — likely will be numerous. Forbes valued the Nationals at $2 billion this season, up 4 percent from a year ago, the 12th-most valuable of the 30 MLB franchises.
In 2020, hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen completed his purchase of the New York Mets for $2.4 billion. In 2017, businessman Bruce Sherman bought the Miami Marlins — who annually rank near the bottom of baseball in attendance — for $1.2 billion.
Allen & Company has managed the sale of several sports franchises, including that of the Mets and the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. The Denver Broncos recently enlisted the firm to run the sale of that franchise.
Chelsea Janes and Jesse Dougherty contributed.

Offline KV

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #5: April 11, 2022, 01:33:56 PM »
Welcome aboard Mr. Snyder!

Offline imref

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #6: April 11, 2022, 01:37:11 PM »
IIRC, Chief said he had a few bucks left over after the last fundraiser?

Offline imref

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #7: April 11, 2022, 01:38:03 PM »
They've hired an investment bank to research potential investors and buyers, according to Mark Lerner.

there's this on their finances:
Forbes values the franchise at $2 billion, #12 in MLB. The article also says this about the grandkids:
Sort of sounds like they have taken a financial hit, it looks like the Nats are a good chunk of their net worth, and that there may be some issues with the grandkids not wanting to be locked into the business.

Commercial real estate market has been hurting, they could be over-leveraged and looking to raise cash.

Offline Slateman

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #8: April 11, 2022, 01:39:32 PM »
Welcome aboard Mr. Snyder!
Bezos. Bezos will want to buy a sports team, and baseball is just nerdy enough

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #9: April 11, 2022, 01:42:10 PM »
I wonder if they want to sell before Ted dies to get the proceeds safely away from the IRS. It's probably estate planning more than anything 

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #10: April 11, 2022, 01:42:37 PM »
Am I remembering correctly that the Lerners bought out a number of their original partners in the early years of The Plan when the team value dipped? I can't imagine that a lot of people are looking to be minority owners in sports franchises, there is a potential for big profits upon the sale but that is out of their control.

The Lerners are also clashing with the Astros over their partnership with the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. I'm having a hard time imagining a minority investor bailing them out. This seems like a sale.

I'm wondering if the Mars family will bid for the team. They just announced they are dropping their sponsorship of Kyle Busch and Gibbs Racing.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #11: April 11, 2022, 01:43:12 PM »
I wonder if they want to sell before Ted dies to get the proceeds safely away from the IRS. It's probably estate planning more than anything 

The grandkids want to get a cash payout and go buck wild.

Offline Kevrock

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #12: April 11, 2022, 01:49:23 PM »
Idk, but the team being run by some combination of 4 grandkids sounds like a nightmare.

Offline nfotiu

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #13: April 11, 2022, 02:01:54 PM »
It would seem tough to try to sell it without figuring out a settlement to the MASN fiasco.

Is it about 200 million they are fighting for currently?   And that is just for 2012-17.    I haven't even heard anything about the 2017-22 years, but that should be a few hundred million more.   Add in the future years, and at least half the value of the team is an unknown mess.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #14: April 11, 2022, 02:04:39 PM »
Which Nats employees are reading this news and thinking, "oh crap, my job is on the line"?

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #15: April 11, 2022, 02:12:17 PM »
Which Nats employees are reading this news and thinking, "oh crap, my job is on the line"?
the other half of the ushers they have not already canned?

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #16: April 11, 2022, 02:16:08 PM »
the other half of the ushers they have not already canned?

Most of the organization has already been gutted, I was thinking within the baseball leadership there might be someone starting to sweat the pressure.

Offline Mattionals

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #17: April 11, 2022, 02:16:12 PM »
Idk, but the team being run by some combination of 4 grandkids sounds like a nightmare.


They are in their 30s. Just because they are "grandkids" doesn't make them ill equipped to run a sports team.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #18: April 11, 2022, 02:16:44 PM »
Bezos. Bezos will want to buy a sports team, and baseball is just nerdy enough
This is where my head went... Not sure if that would be a good thing or not, but the potential is interesting.

Offline Kevrock

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #19: April 11, 2022, 02:24:43 PM »

They are in their 30s. Just because they are "grandkids" doesn't make them ill equipped to run a sports team.

I mean I think most people who have the opportunity are ill equipped to run a sports team, but you're emphasizing the "grandkids" while I'm focusing on the number. It sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen.

Offline SkinsNatFan21RIP

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #20: April 11, 2022, 02:24:55 PM »
It will be Bezos. Dude has wanted a sports team for awhile now and I think he mainly stays in DC now.

Offline Slateman

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #21: April 11, 2022, 02:29:04 PM »
This is where my head went... Not sure if that would be a good thing or not, but the potential is interesting.
I think it would be good. Bezos current solution to business is to throw money at the problem. That works well in a sport with no salary cap

Offline madj55

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #22: April 11, 2022, 02:29:56 PM »
Bezos vs Cohen in the same division would be something.

Offline Mattionals

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #23: April 11, 2022, 02:30:06 PM »
I mean I think most people who have the opportunity are ill equipped to run a sports team, but you're emphasizing the "grandkids" while I'm focusing on the number. It sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen.


Apologies, I thought you were referring to their ages. I do agree that 4 equal majority owners would be 3 too many cooks in the kitchen.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: The Nats are...For Sale?!?
« Reply #24: April 11, 2022, 02:40:51 PM »
Bezos is already a done deal.