The field of potential next Dodgers owners has been narrowed, and the list no longer includes Mark Cuban, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press reports Cuban refused to say whether he was in or out while at his Mavericks' game Friday night. UPDATE: Shaikin has now tweeted that the Garvey-Hershiser group is also out of the bidding.
| Dodgers in transition |
Shaikin also has reported that "at least eight bidders have advanced in the bidding and are being called finalists (latimes.com), including the groups led by former Lakers superstar Magic Johnson, real estate developer Rick Caruso (his group includes Joe Torre) and hedge fund manager Steven Cohen.
The initial bids -- from more than 12 groups -- were submitted Monday to the financial firm handling the sale by current owner Frank McCourt.
"Each of the preliminary bids has been reviewed carefully by the Dodgers and its financial adviser Blackstone. Blackstone is notifying all of the bidders as to which ones will and which ones will not advance in the sales process," the Dodgers said in a statement.
"The preliminary round of bidding has underscored the robust nature of the sales process, the significant purchase opportunity which the Dodgers represent, and the enormous value that the sale of the Dodgers, including their media assets, will generate."
McCourt put the team in bankruptcy last year and reached an agreement with Major League Baseball to sell the team by April 30, the deadline for him to make a $131 million divorce payment to former wife Jamie McCourt.
CBSSports.com insider Jon Heyman reports that he's heard at least one bid is in the $1.5 billion range, so McCourt could end up approaching a sale price of $2 billion before it's all said and done.
Major League Baseball has agreed to approve up to 10 bidders while McCourt has agreed to reveal the winning bidder by April 1.
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