{"id":763305,"date":"2026-07-14T23:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/763305\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T23:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T23:49:26","slug":"vote-on-padres-sale-likely-after-trade-deadline-manfred-says-work-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/763305\/","title":{"rendered":"Vote on Padres sale likely after trade deadline; Manfred says work remains"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than two months after Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones agreed to buy the San Diego Padres at a record $3.9 billion valuation, Major League Baseball has not yet voted to approve the pending sale. The delay stems at least in part from the work of assembling an ownership structure that satisfies the league\u2019s requirements for how private-equity institutions can hold a stake in a team, according to people briefed on the process who were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.<\/p>\n

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, speaking Tuesday at his annual All-Star Game press conference, said the sale was awaiting the buyers\u2019 finalized investment commitments and the documentation needed for an owners\u2019 vote. Manfred said he was not aware of any holdup \u201clegally or otherwise,\u201d but he also described the league as essentially a passive party waiting on the buyer and the seller.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a question of getting investment commitments nailed down, documentation in a condition that it\u2019s ready for a club vote,\u201d Manfred said, adding that the sale price had become public earlier than is typical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one was earlier, quicker than sometimes happens. Usually, it gets public when they\u2019re a little closer to final documents. But they\u2019ll get that work done.\u201d<\/p>\n

A person familiar with the Padres\u2019 thinking told The Athletic that the purchasing group\u2019s investment commitments are complete and that final documentation will be submitted to MLB this week, with the team expecting approval in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

The Padres announced on May 2 that the Seidler family had agreed to transfer control of the franchise<\/a> to a group led by Feliciano and Jones, a deal that must be approved by at least 22 of 29 MLB owners. Feliciano and Jones, a husband-wife duo, plan to take a controlling stake of between 40 and 42 percent, a person familiar with the sale process told The Athletic on Tuesday. Several other individuals and entities are expected to join the incoming ownership group at a smaller combined percentage.<\/p>\n

Under MLB rules, no franchise can sell more than 30 percent of its total equity to private equity. Jones and Feliciano, the co-founder and managing partner of the private-equity firm Clearlake Capital, are expected to fund their individual stake in the Padres with their personal wealth. Other portions of their ownership group, however, could include private-equity investors.<\/p>\n

MLB All-Star Futures Game recap<\/p>\n

Keith Law<\/p>\n

That ownership group also could include former Los Angeles Lakers front-office executives Joey and Jesse Buss, industry sources told The Athletic. In November, after Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter bought the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation \u2014 and amid a disconnect with their sister, Jeanie Buss \u2014 Joey and Jesse Buss were terminated from their positions with the NBA team<\/a>. The two brothers\u2019 interest in becoming Padres minority owners had not been previously reported.<\/p>\n

The anticipated timeline for a vote on the Padres sale has moved at least once; some people familiar with the process originally envisioned that vote taking place by mid-July. Multiple industry sources now expect a potential date sometime next month, likely after the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Some of the same sources said there has been ongoing communication between the Feliciano-Jones group and current Padres executives, indicating that, while the sale of the team remains pending, San Diego might have flexibility to take on payroll in potential player acquisitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be business as usual at the trade deadline,\u201d Padres chairman John Seidler said in a statement provided to The Athletic. \u201cRegardless of when the transaction closes, all decisions will be made in the best interests of the Padres.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under MLB requirements, a prospective ownership group must submit a complete accounting of the parties that would own every part of the franchise \u2014 including the control owners, incoming limited partners and continuing minority owners \u2014 all of it compliant with league rules, before it goes to MLB\u2019s ownership committee. If approved by the committee, it would then be voted on by other teams\u2019 owners. According to people briefed on the Padres\u2019 sale, a complete capital table has not yet been formally submitted.<\/p>\n

A person involved in the purchasing group disputed the characterization that ownership structure remains a significant obstacle, saying MLB received a full proposed structure more than two months ago and that the two sides have been discussing a small portion of potential minority owners whose stakes the Feliciano-Jones group is prepared to substitute or cover with its own capital.<\/p>\n

Manfred was asked Tuesday about the general, increasing involvement of private equity in MLB clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rules surrounding private-equity investment are (that) they don\u2019t even get information, let alone have an opportunity for influence (over team decisions),\u201d Manfred said. \u201cNot only are the rules in place \u2014 does everyone understand them on their way in? We pay a lot of attention to what is actually going on in terms of the investments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think investors now see (sports franchises) as a separate category of investments that is significant in terms of diversifying your overall portfolio. I also think that, particularly given some of the issues that (MLB is) dealing with right now, people are thinking that the game could be on an upswing in terms of its investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ken Rosenthal and Dan Woike contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than two months after Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones agreed to buy the San Diego Padres…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,2328,99,1794],"class_list":["post-763305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sports","tag-sports-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}