PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres have narrowed the field to four groups of prospective buyers as the process moves toward a sale that could be completed by April.
It was at the end of February that the Seidler family accepted bids from five suitors. One of those groups is no longer in the running, a source said Friday.
All four of the remaining groups spent time at the team’s complex here this week.
The identity of the four remaining potential buyers is not known.
Three of the five suitors were identified by various sources in February as groups headed by Jose E. Feliciano, Dan Friedkin and Joe Lacob. All three have significant ownership stakes in other sports franchises.
Feliciano is co-founder of Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm that manages $90 billion in investments, and is the principal owner of the Premier League’s Chelsea FC.
Friedkin is CEO of The Friedkin Group, a consortium of businesses that include auto dealerships and hotels, and he owns Roma of Serie A and Everton of the Premier League.
Lacob was a partner in the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins and is the principal owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
It is not known if all three remain in the running to buy the Padres.
Multiple people with knowledge of recent sales in MLB say the Padres are expected to sell for more than $2.5 billion and could top $3 billion. Even the low end would be a record for an MLB franchise.