A hint of a rumor that you will like

[Frobby]

I was of the impression that MASN was a Angelos only venture on the Oriole side.

It is possible, but where did you get that impression? Did you read (or were you told) something specific? Here is what I read in an FCC decision involving MASN (which cites as its source a brief filed on MASN's behalf in the case):

[MASN] was established in 1996 by the Baltimore Orioles as a holding company for the Orioles' television production and exhibition rights. In 2005...the Orioles executed a settlement agreement with MLB whereby the Orioles agreed to share their entire television viewing territory with the Nationals. Consequently, MASN is now held jointly by the owners of the Orioles and Nationals, and maintains the rights to produce and exhibit the games of both teams.

That certainly implies to me that all the Orioles' owners have a share in MASN, not just Angelos. I tend to give more credence to a legal document filed with the FCC than the press reports I've read, which sometimes say the Orioles own MASN and other times say that Angelos owns MASN.

[Birds of B'more]

I'm not able to find a list by percentage anymore, but I know Shriver and McKay owned about 1% each. Clancy owned a larger minority share, 24%, but chased after, and married a younger mistress. Subsequently, he lost half of his share to his then wife of about thirty years, Wanda, in the divorce.

source -

Wonder what happened to McKay's share when he passed away? Not that it was much in the big picture, but 1% of the initial purchase price is $1.73 million, and I'm sure that had appreciated quite a bit by the time he died.

[TonySoprano]

That's excellent information, thanks. I would have guessed that Angelos owned more than 60%, but your research certainly suggests otherwise. We also know, from FCC filings, that the owners of the Orioles also own shares of MASN (with the Nats' owners also holding shares) -- what we don't know is whether the Orioles-related owners own MASN in the same relative percentages that they own the Orioles. If that is the arrangement, then Angelos' personal share of MASN will slip below 50% in just a couple of years, because the Nats' group's ownership in MASN grows by 1% a year and should be at 16-17% now (so, Angelos' 60% of the Orioles group's 83-84% ownership of MASN would be just about 50%, and will shrink from there).

I actually believe his share is less than 60% but I have no data to support that. I've seen the breakdown, but it has been several years.

What I know is there are 16 other investors, the Clancys at 24%, and Angelos at 60%. That means the 16 other investors own 1% each. Of that group, I think Geppi and Levinson, own bigger shares than that.

[weams]

It is possible, but where did you get that impression? Did you read (or were you told) something specific? Here is what I read in an FCC decision involving MASN (which cites as its source a brief filed on MASN's behalf in the case):

That certainly implies to me that all the Orioles' owners have a share in MASN, not just Angelos. I tend to give more credence to a legal document filed with the FCC than the press reports I've read, which sometimes say the Orioles own MASN and other times say that Angelos owns MASN.

That is what would imply to me as well. Thanks for the correction.

I knew that Peter himself was the one negotiating with the MLB on the issue and since John runs MASN, I just assumed that it was kept in the family.

[weams]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pe1X2XVcxC8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Have dinner with Cal and Turtle.

[TakebackOPACY]

I can't imagine a buyer with the resources to acquire the O's buying the team without requiring that MASN is a part of the transaction. O's without MASN is a deathknell for baseball in Baltimore. Any new ownership group will surely recognize that.

The Yankees don't technically own YES.

Just spitballing here, but didn't Angelos have interest in getting involved with the slots? Knowing he can't do both, own the Orioles and a Track/ Casino, it's possible he wants out of MLB for a more lucrative offer. Or maybe that's what his sons want?

Thanks to MLBAM, the O's are both more lucrative and safer as an investment than a track/casino would be.

The only hope would be that CSN is willing to fork out big money to get baseball back (not out of the question' date=' IMO). It still wouldn't be ideal for the Orioles, but it could end up being the best option. If the O's end up on MASN without any ownership stake, expect their coverage to be buried well behind the Nats. The thing that concerns me is that we know the network is a cash-cow and at this point is almost a turn-key operation for Angelos if he wants to keep it and pass it down to his heirs. And while not selling it as part of a package will devalue what he gets for the Orioles, he does have that MLB-guaranteed floor of $363 million for a sale price, which is still slightly more than double his initial investment.[/quote']

In the negotiations with Angelos and the creation process of MASN, MLB successfully guaranteed that MASN would equally cover both teams. A new ownership group for the O's could, in theory, be comfortable with bidding for the O's without bidding for the Oriole portion of MASN if they were assured equal coverage and could negotiate rights fees prior to the deal.

[Oriolidae85]

One thing to keep in mind about PA is the estate tax impact on his ownership of the Orioles and MASN. Steinbrenner's estate was exempt in 2010

Last year, Steinbrenner's heirs would have faced a tax rate of 45 percent on the bulk of his estate. Next year, the tax is set to spring back to a 55 percent rate..........The AP put the Steinbrenner family's savings in the neighborhood of $500 million.

Unless PA's estate can absorb a 35% tax hit, his ownership interests will most likely have to be sold (either in part or as a whole), to pass on his remaining estate. My guess is that this self-made billionaire lawyer has something already lined up to avoid any messy ownership transitions.

Without being an estate guru, I'd guess it involves selling a decent chunk of his ownership to a newly formed group of investors (with current owners having an in/out option to sell), if not his entire stake in the Orioles & MASN....here is one link I found about the current estate tax. It really comes down what transactions (either before PA's death, or after) maximizes his goals in the estate.

[RavNMadMan]

In a perfect world, A Mayflower truck will drive into town driven by Jim Irsey. He will pick up Peter Angelos and clean out his offices. He will then swing over to the castle and pick up Cam Cameron. They will then all drive off into the sunset never to be heard from again.

Count me in Buddy! Great idea.....killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

[TonySoprano]

In a perfect world, A Mayflower truck will drive into town driven by Jim Irsey. He will pick up Peter Angelos and clean out his offices. He will then swing over to the castle and pick up Cam Cameron. They will then all drive off into the sunset never to be heard from again.

Trucks are an expense. Send over Paulie Walnuts to ....advise them. Bada bing, problem goes away.

[RavNMadMan]

I thought Angelos refused to deal with Cubans.

Didn't Cuban already float the idea that he was interested in buying the Dodgers?

[scOtt]

Didn't Cuban already float the idea that he was interested in buying the Dodgers?

He tried to get in on the Cubs too. I don't think he's really picky, just wants an MLB club.

[Dipper9]

Trucks are an expense. Send over Paulie Walnuts to ....advise them. Bada bing, problem goes away.

Leave the gun, take the cannoli!

[Going Underground]

One thing to keep in mind about PA is the estate tax impact on his ownership of the Orioles and MASN. Steinbrenner's estate was exempt in 2010

Unless PA's estate can absorb a 35% tax hit, his ownership interests will most likely have to be sold (either in part or as a whole), to pass on his remaining estate. My guess is that this self-made billionaire lawyer has something already lined up to avoid any messy ownership transitions.

Without being an estate guru, I'd guess it involves selling a decent chunk of his ownership to a newly formed group of investors (with current owners having an in/out option to sell), if not his entire stake in the Orioles & MASN....here is one link I found about the current estate tax. It really comes down what transactions (either before PA's death, or after) maximizes his goals in the estate.

You can avoid most of the estate tax by having living trusts and trusts. You avoid probate and pass the money on to your heirs. You can set up family trusts. I am sure Angelos being a lawyer has a good lawyer.

[Birds of B'more]

In the negotiations with Angelos and the creation process of MASN, MLB successfully guaranteed that MASN would equally cover both teams. A new ownership group for the O's could, in theory, be comfortable with bidding for the O's without bidding for the Oriole portion of MASN if they were assured equal coverage and could negotiate rights fees prior to the deal.

That guarantee was set up to protect the Nats as minority owners of the network. I don't know if that would apply to the Orioles if the team and PA's current share of the network fall into separate hands. But I agree that any future O's owners (assuming they don't have at least a small stake in MASN) will want to be absolutely sure and negotiate equal coverage and fair rights fees. And again, I think that's where CSN comes into play. As much as some have pondered how great it would be if MASN could get rights to the Caps and Wizards, which would doom CSN, a healthy and aggressive CSN could definitely be vital to the Orioles going forward under new ownership, if for no other reason than to keep MASN honest and negotiating in good faith.

[Camden_yardbird]

Leave the gun, take the cannoli!

Funny, after about 6 innings of most of the Orioles games this year I decides to "go to the mattresses."