A group that includes former Lakers great Magic Johnson has agreed to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt for $2 billion dollars.

Mark Walter, chief executive officer of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, would become the controlling owner. In addition the purchase price for the Dodgers would shatter the record for a North American sports franchise previously held by Stephen Ross’ purchase of the Miami Dolphins for $1.1 billion.

There are still plenty of steps that each side must take before anything becomes official including approval of the sale by a federal bankruptcy court.

Current owner Frank McCourt originally purchased the team for $430 million dollars back in 2004. This deal included Dodger Stadium and 250 acres of land that also included the parking lots, from the Fox division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., a sale that left the team with about $50 million in cash at the time.

Unfortunately a slew of domestic issues that stemmed from a very nasty and public divorce, Frank McCourt found the team drowning in $579 million dollars worth of debt.
Despite all of the current debt associated with the Dodgers this is a huge first step in establishing new ownership in one of baseballs most historic franchises.
Ref: ESPN, Associated Press

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