Former Florida governor would be ‘control person.’
MIAMI — Miami Marlins owner Jeffffrey Loria has reached an agreement in principle to sell the team to a group led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and including former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, pending Major League Baseball approval and other details still to be worked out in the drawing up and execution of a contract, an MLB source said Tuesday.
According to the source, Bush’s group has agreed to pay $1.3 billion for the team.
The source said the Marlins and the Bush group are very optimistic a deal will be fifinalized, but the process could take months to conclude.
Bush plans to be the Marlins’ “control person,” the individual who would have ultimate control over franchise decisions, according to the source.
Jeter, the former All-Star player who lives in Tampa, plans to take an active role with the franchise.
Bush’s group includes at least fifive investors, and the identity of those other investors was not immediately known.
It’s also unclear which of those investors has the most money invested in the bid, but a source reiterated that Bush will be the control person, similar to a managing partner.
Loria, according to the MLB source, does not plan to retain a piece of the team that he has owned since 2002.
Bush was informed this week that his offffffffffffer was selected over bids from at least two others — New York businessman Wayne Rothbaum and a group led by Massachusetts businessman Tagg Romney, son of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
The belief, according to the MLB source, is that Bush intends to retain manager Don Mattingly and president of baseball operations Mike Hill barring something unforeseen.