The Los Angeles Dodgers were sold for an insane amount of money last week. Whenever that much currency is exchanged in any transaction, there is always plenty of fine print that needs to be reviewed. According to this latest report from Sports Illustrated, Major League Baseball is growing concerned with a lack of concrete details that surround the $2 billion dollar purchase.
The group was expected to file a Purchase and Sale Agreement with MLB earlier this week, but postponed the filing for two days before submitting a short form agreement that lacked what MLB regards as most of the necessary details. Of particular interest to MLB is a breakdown of where the money is coming from to cover the $2.15 billion sale price and what role McCourt has in the ownership, control and profit-sharing of the Dodger Stadium parking lots.
Until MLB knows and reviews those details, according to sources, concern mounts about how the deal is financed and especially if McCourt stands to continue to profit from Dodger-related operations under the new ownership.
Some answers may be forthcoming as soon as Friday, when terms of the sale are expected to be filed in bankruptcy court. The court is expected to approve the sale on April 13 in advance of a final closing April 30, when McCourt must pay his wife, Jamie, $131 million as a condition of their divorce settlement.
Most believe that the details will get hammered out in the coming days and the deal will be finalized shortly after, but this is definitely something the MLB offices will be all over until then. This is simply too much money to just glance over and you can bet Bud Selig and Co. will want everything smoothed out before they sign off.
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