Gores Eying Dodgers Bid

70

Billionaire investor Alec Gores reportedly plans to make a bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers if the current owners’ divorce forces them to find a buyer.

Bloomberg News cites a person with knowledge of the plans who said Gores may try to purchase the Major League Baseball team, either with his fellow billionaire brother, Tom Gores, or as part of an investment group.

Frank McCourt, who divorced his wife Jamie in November after 31 years of marriage, is appealing a Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s decision last month that invalidated his claim to sole ownership of the team. If McCourt loses and has to sell the team, the Gores are among a number of wealthy Angelenos and others looking to acquire the team. Los Angeles real estate billionaire Alan Casden, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey also have expressed an interest in the team.

Forbes valued the Dodgers at $727 million last year, making them the fourth-most-valuable MLB franchise.

Alec Gores is chief executive of Los Angeles private equity firm Gores Group. Tom Gores is chief executive of the Beverly Hills leveraged buyout firm Platinum Equity. They were ranked 19th and 12th, respectively, on the Business Journal’s list of Wealthiest Angelenos in May. Alec Gores’ personal wealth was then estimated at $1.82 billion and Tom Gores’ at $2.4 billion.

Steve Sugerman, a spokesman for Frank McCourt, told Bloomberg that the team isn’t for sale. A hearing on McCourt’s appeal is scheduled for Tuesday.