2 groups still vie to buy Marlins

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says two groups are still bidding to buy the Miami Marlins from Jeffrey Loria.

Former New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are involved in one of the groups. Manfred said some reports on the sale have been premature, noting that “there is not a signed document on any topic.”

“There are multiple bidders for the Marlins,” Manfred said Thursday at the groundbreaking for the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York. “There is no agreement in place. We're working with more than one group, and when we have a definitive agree----

ment we'll make an announcement.”

Asked about the timeline, Manfred responded: “The timeline is relatively short; it would be measured in days, not months.”

“We still have two groups involved in the process,” he added. “Timing is one of the things that both the buyer and the seller are working through, so it's just impossible to say at this point, and Idon't want to get into really what the issues are. The only reason I commented on this at all is there had been so much out there that really [is] not quite accurate.”

A source with knowledge of the situation told the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday that Loria had an agreement in principle with the Bush-Jeter group, though many details — including MLB approval— still needed to be worked out before a deal could be finalized. The Miami Herald reported that the agreed-upon pricewas $1.3 billion.

Loria, who was in Philadelphia with the Marlins, declined comment after their loss to the Phillies on Thursday afternoon. Spokespersons for Jeter and Bush have not responded to requests for comment.

MLB must approve the structure of any deal, and at least 75 percent of teams must vote in favor of it.

Manfred noted this week that any deal must adhere to a debt service rule that requires that more than half of the winning bid to purchase the team involve cash.

“You can rest assured that the acquiring group, whoever it turns out to be, will have a financial structure— meaning some debt and the rest equity — that is consistent with the rules thatwe have, most notably the debt service rule,” Manfred said Tuesday in Pittsburgh while attending a Pirates-Cubs game. “And more important than complying with the rules, [that] puts the franchise in a position that it can operate effectively. That's really the commissioner's office’s job in terms of approving any potential bidding group, and we are really focused on that issue with respect to the Marlins.”

Information from the Associated Press and Sun Sentinel staff was included in this report.