First bids for MLB’s Dodgers submitted

The Wall Street Journal reports that the first round of bidding for the bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers has been completed. The club’s financial advisers approved around 10 of the bids. A second round of bidding will now take place among those 10 bidders.

The bidders selected to participate in the second round include groups of investors led by former professional basketball player Magic Johnson and former Major League Baseball manager Joe Torre. Also among the prospective owners are a hedge-fund manager, and a group headed by a cable investor and a financier.

An anonymous source said that Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, would not participate in the second round of bidding. Cuban had previously appeared interested in purchasing the Dodgers.

At least some of the bids exceeded $1 billion. However, at this stage of the sales process, the bids were not binding, and no deposits were required.

A U. S. Bankruptcy Court will supervise the team’s sale, though MLB has reserved the right to evaluate independently any potential ownership group.

The Dodgers’ bankruptcy was in part a result of current owner Frank McCourt’s divorce from his estranged wife Jamie. The Dodgers hope to complete a sale by April 30, the date agreed upon by McCourt and MLB. That is also the deadline for a $131 million payment McCourt must tender to his ex-wife. The sale is expected to resolve all creditor claims.