Private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones have reached a deal to buy the San Diego Padres for $3.9 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the details. The price shatters the record for an MLB franchise sale, previously set when Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets for $2.42 billion in 2020.
An official announcement is expected Monday or Tuesday, according to the people, who were granted anonymity because the details are private.
The Padres and BDT & MSD, which was retained last November to explore a potential sale of the MLB club, declined to comment, while Feliciano did not respond to immediate requests to comment. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on Feliciano and Jones reaching a deal.
The three other finalists for the Padres included Dan Friedkin, whose Pursuit Sports owns Everton and AS Roma; Golden State Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob; and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores. The Padres had three bids of at least $3.5 billion, including the winning one.
Feliciano, who co-founded Clearlake Capital with Behdad Eghbali in 2006, has become a more prominent sports investor in the last few years. Clearlake provided a large portion of the funding for the $3.16 billion purchase of English soccer giant Chelsea in 2022 and now has more than $90 billion under management. Feliciano was close to buying a minority stake in the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers two years ago and was among those who bid unsuccessfully for the Denver Broncos in 2022.
The Padres’ owners announced the sale process in November, amid a legal battle between family members of late owner Peter Seidler, who died in 2023. Seidler’s widow, Sheel Kamal Seidler, sued his brothers, Bob and Matt, in Texas probate court, alleging they breached their fiduciary duties as trustees of Peter’s trust. One of the trust’s main assets is the control ownership stake in the Padres. In February, a court filing showed that Sheel has dismissed most of her original claims.
The current Padres ownership group, which includes at least 10 people or entities, bought the team in 2012 for $800 million. The largest stake of roughly 24% is held by the Peter Seidler Trust, with Sheel and her three children the beneficiaries.