The list of potential buyers of the San Diego Padres includes a pair of billionaire owners of English Premiere League clubs.
According to Sportico, Dan Friedkin and Jose Feliciano have expressed interest in the MLB franchise. Friedkin’s Pursuit Sports owns Everton and Italian club A.S. Roma. Feliciano is a co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, which has majority ownership of Chelsea.
Sportico is reporting that they are “two of a handful of potential bidders engaged in the ongoing sale process.” Their MLB valuations state that the Padres are worth $2.31 billion, ranking San Diego 14th out of 30 Major League clubs.
Friedkin, who was born in San Diego, is worth $9.9 billion, according to Forbes, and runs Gulf States Toyota out of Houston. The 60-year-old also owns a luxury hospitality management firm.
Friedkin completed his purchase of A.S. Roma in 2020. In 2024 he acquired majority stake in Everton.
Friedkin introduced Pursuit Sports in July of 2025 and said about the venture, “The launch of Pursuit Sports marks an exciting new chapter in the Friedkin Group’s vision to elevate and empower world-class sports organizations. Through this platform, we can do more than support our teams at a high level — we are investing in their long-term success by bringing together the full strength of our global expertise, resources, and pursuit of excellence.”
Feliciano was born in Puerto Rico, graduated from Princeton and got his MBA at Stanford — where he is on the board of trustees.
The 52-year-old worked previously at Goldman Sachs. In 2006 he co-founded Clearlake Capital, which now maintains more than $90 billion in assets. The private equity firm is headquartered in Santa Monica. Forbes has Feliciano’s net worth at $3.9 billion.
Feliciano was part of a group that completed its purchase of Chelsea in 2022. That group includes Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones, have invested in Monarch Collective, which has a minority stake in multiple NWSL teams, including the San Diego Wave.
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob was previously reported to have an interest in the Padres. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Lacob met with the club in San Diego last week.
Padres chairman John Seidler announced in November that the Seidler family was exploring a potential sale of the franchise.
This week, the legal complications between Seidler’s brothers and Sheel Seidler, the widow of Padres’ late owner Peter Seidler, reached some resolution. According to a filing in a Texas probate court, Sheel dropped nearly all of her claims against Matt and Bob Seidler.
Sheel’s suit was filed in January 2025 and accused her late husband’s brothers of “breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud.” Her attempt to become control person of the Padres fell short, and John Seidler officially became chairman last February.