Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein is in talks to acquire Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles, said people with knowledge of the matter.
Rubenstein is among suitors pursuing a transaction, said one of the people, all of whom requested anonymity discussing confidential information. Nothing has been finalized, and talks may still fall apart, the people said.
Representatives for the Orioles didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Rubenstein declined to comment. Trial lawyer Peter Angelos, 94, is the team’s majority owner.
Both majority and minority stakes in U.S. sports teams have continued to change hands, driven in part by owners looking to cash in on rising valuations and a perception among investors, following the pandemic, that live sports remain a hit with viewers.
Sportsology Capital Partners and Ares Management Corp. are in exclusive talks to buy a stake in Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, and Ken Griffin is in talks to buy a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, Bloomberg has reported.
Rubenstein, 74, was born in Baltimore. He has a net worth of $4.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He also hosts a show on Bloomberg Television.
Rubenstein told key backers of the Orioles that he would consider buying the team if it comes up for sale, Bloomberg News reported last year. He has previously eyed the Washington Nationals, another MLB team, and, unlike many of his peers across Wall Street, has yet to make a splashy bet on a sports team.