John P. Angelos is selling the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by private equity billionaire David Rubenstein reports John Ourand of Puck News. According to The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka, other Maryland leaders, like Hall of Fame Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., will be a part of the new ownership group.
The sale values the Orioles at $1.725 billion.
The Orioles, led by young superstars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, are coming off an exciting 2023 season that saw them take home the AL East division crown for the first time since 2014. They finished the year 101-61, ultimately falling in the ALDS to the Texas Rangers.
The team also recently finalized a deal with the Maryland Stadium Authority to remain at Camden Yards for the next 30 years.
Rubenstein’s involvement, which was rumored back in early December, is interesting due to previous rumblings that he was going to be involved in a joint bid with Ted Leonsis to try and pry the Washington Nationals from the Lerner family. Rubenstein, billionaire and co-founder of the Carlyle Group, and Leonsis, owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, were first connected in August of 2022.
Back then, a Washington Business Journal report claimed that Leonsis and Rubenstein’s group was a serious contender to purchase DC’s baseball team. The partnership seemed to make perfect sense given Leonsis’ ownership of other DC teams and Rubenstein’s deep connections to the area through venues like the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Toward the end of 2022, Leonsis reportedly offered the Lerners over $2 billion to buy the Nationals. Sports Business Journal added last March that while the Lerners intended to hold out through the 2023 MLB season, the auction for their club was expected to pick up again over the offseason. That hasn’t exactly happened likely due to the $3 billion price tag that has been placed on the team.
Another potential roadblock for the plans is the seemingly never-ending MASN network dispute between the two teams. According to the Washington Post, Leonsis once inquired about purchasing MASN but was rebuffed by the network, saying the company was not for sale. There could be light at the end of that tunnel though as it’s likely that MLB will ensure that any new ownership of the Orioles is contingent on solving the MASN issues.
With the MASN deal potentially cleared up, that could open the Orioles and the Nationals to new TV suitors. Perhaps, that’s where Leonsis reenters the picture to air both franchises’ games on his newly established Monumental Sports Network. Leonsis has seemed keen on doing exactly that in the past, as it would give his network the compelling summer programming that it currently lacks.
After being turned away by the Lerners in 2022, Leonsis and Rubenstein reportedly focused their attention on the Orioles. Now that Rubenstein has made his move without Leonsis, attention could turn back to Leonsis and the Nationals.
In MLB, it’s important to note that no owner is allowed to own more than one team. Theoretically, that could mean that the Rubenstein-Leonsis partnership is still alive but just with Rubenstein as the owner of the Orioles and, if they can get a deal done, Leonsis as the future owner of the Nationals.
Notably, Nationals Park is located just across the Potomac River from Potomac Yard, Leonsis’ proposed site for the new home of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.
The local pro baseball landscape could be prepared for a massive shift. And, the sale of the Orioles would be the first domino.
January 31 update: The news is now official.
