TT: Could the Orioles be Prepping to be Sold?

[Ohfan67]

8 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

If one or both of them inherited the team, the transfer would need the approval of half of MLB club owners. (It's not clear to me whether the inheritors would have a vote.)

From  Article V, Section 2 to of the MLB Constitution: 

(2)  The vote of three-fourths of the Major League Clubs shall be required for the approval of any of the following

.  .  . 

(b) The sale or transfer of a control interest in any Club; provided, however, that a majority vote of all Major League Clubs shall be sufficient to approve any such sale or transfer occurring upon the death of an owner to a spouse or one or more lineal descendants. For purposes hereof, the term "control" shall mean the possession by the transferee, directly or indirectly, of the power or authority to influence substantially the management policies of the Club. A sale or transfer of a non-control interest in any Club shall require only the approval of the Commissioner;

I have said before that if Peter Angelos leaves his interest in the team to his sons,  a number of owners might not approve their taking over, unless there were substantial investment by others, on the ground that they would have insufficient financial resources..That's in addition to those who would not approve out of a desire to get the Angelos family out of MLB. 

 

Your posts on this have been very illuminating. I've learned a lot about inheritance tax and the like. I still think, however, that the owners are unlikely to make it extra difficult for the Orioles to pass to the Angelos family. It would set a horrible precedent for the deaths of future owners and increase the rate of future changes in ownership. The owners seem to want a high level of stability. I get that taxes might force a change in ownership, but I don't think MLB owners will try to push the Angelos' out. In the big scheme of things, Angelos has not been a big pain and the team is profitable. 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Ohfan67 said:

Your posts on this have been very illuminating. I've learned a lot about inheritance tax and the like. I still think, however, that the owners are unlikely to make it extra difficult for the Orioles to pass to the Angelos family. It would set a horrible precedent for the deaths of future owners and increase the rate of future changes in ownership. The owners seem to want a high level of stability. I get that taxes might force a change in ownership, but I don't think MLB owners will try to push the Angelos' out. In the big scheme of things, Angelos has not been a big pain and the team is profitable. 

I think the Commish makes a call and suggests the heirs drop the lawsuit.

[spiritof66]

50 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think the Commish makes a call and suggests the heirs drop the lawsuit.

That would make sense but would really hurt the Orioles competitively. I have speculated before that this could come out exactly the opposite way around:  Angelos or his sons agree to sell the team, and MLB agrees to  revise the MASN agreement to clarify that MASN can make the same profit as other team-controlled sports networks make, increasing the value of the team. They would need to work out something with the Nats. 

I don't have any inside knowledge, but everything I read about expansion, the Rays, the A's, etc. tells me that what MLB  and its owners want in connection with other franchises is financial stability -- to  minimize the risk that a franchise anywhere will fail. That's why it won't expand until it sees whether TB or Oakland needs to move, in which case MLB can give that team its first choice in relocating and can blame the local governments for not supporting the team by helping it get a new stadium. 

I think MLB would look at the risk of financial failure in Baltimore with alarm. And I think that would look like a serious risk if the Angelos boys inherited the team without bringing in new capital -- apart from the fact that neither has any record of business experience, let alone success , or any financial resources outside the team.

I don't know how much personal dislike the Commissioner or the other owners have for Pop Angelos, but the letters from Selig and Manfred wrote (Manfred probably wrote the ones from Selig, too) made it look like they were plenty pissed when the Orioles brought the lawsuit s few years ago.

 

 

[Ohfan67]

What is the financial risk that the Orioles are going to fail? Zero. 

[section18]

In spite of not being very happy with our starting pitching and changing my mind three times in the last few weeks I did renew my season tickets. I mentioned I wasn't renewing I believe not long ago on OH but changed my mind.  Hopefully most of you will not stop supporting the team.  I believe some of you recall my saying several years ago I had heard the team might be sold in a few years.  My sources said Comcast was interested and Steve Bisciotti had inquired. I still think it's possible one of them will purchase the team.  It's amazing how much money Comcast has and their recent attempt to buy Sky Ptc.a British broadcasting company for 31 billion dollars is evidence they can step up to the table with anyone. Disney and 21st Century Fox are also bidding for Sky Ptc.  If one of these companies bought the Orioles they would not be trying to squeeze players this close to opening day.  We would already have Lynn and Cobb signed and probably Moustakas and Jay or Cargo. Would we be talking playoffs? I'm giving it one more year as a season ticket holder and hope the sale of the team will happen in the near future.