Ted Leonsis’s Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein are weighing a bid for Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals.
The pair has also told key backers of the Baltimore Orioles that they would consider buying the team if it comes up for sale, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
All discussions have been preliminary and may not culminate in a sale. The Nationals are worth $2.23 billion, 12th among the league’s teams, and the Orioles are valued at $1.63 billion, ranking 18th, according to Sportico. Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets in 2020 for $2.4 billion, the highest price ever paid for a MLB franchise.
The Washington Business Journal previously reported that the duo was looking to team up to buy the Nationals from the family of Ted Lerner.
Representatives for Monumental, Rubenstein and the Nationals declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Orioles didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s been a banner year for turnover in professional sports ownership, with the National Football League’s Denver Broncos going for $4.65 billion and Chelsea FC of the English Premier League fetching $5.2 billion (£4.25 billion). Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno, 76, said earlier this week that his family is exploring a potential sale of the MLB team.
If Rubenstein, 73, winds up part owner of either baseball team, he would follow a well-trodden path of private equity titans who have purchased sports franchises. The Baltimore native has channeled his time and the $4.1 billion fortune he built from founding Carlyle into the area surrounding the U.S. capital, restoring American historical monuments and serving as chairman of the National Gallery of Art and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition to his philanthropy, he writes books and also hosts a show on Bloomberg Television.
Monumental said this week it would become the full owner of NBC Sports Washington regional sports network, a move expected to give it new clout. Leonsis, 65, was previously a top executive at AOL.
The Nationals won the World Series in 2019, yet this year the team has the worst record in the league. It was first reported in April that the Lerner family was exploring a sale.
The future of the Orioles, meanwhile, has hung in the balance while the Angelos family, a significant owner, feud in court over how to split their fortune. The team is in fourth place out of five in the American League East.
