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REPORT - A Group Led By Billionaires David Rubenstein And Mike Argougheti Have An Agreement In Place To Buy The Baltimore Orioles For $1.725 Billion

I think something is happening! PuckNews dropped a BOMBSHELL on the city of Baltimore just minutes ago by saying that a group led by private Billionaires David Rubenstein and Ares Management Corp. co-founder Mike Arougheti have agreed to purchase the Baltimore Orioles from noted little man John Angelos. Puck reports that the deal will value the club at $1.725 Billion. That's a lot of coin. Rubenstein will become the clear "control person" according to John Ourand.

 I said a few weeks ago when the Rubenstein rumors started that this one just felt....different. I feel the same about this article. I think this is a massive step in the right direction for the Orioles and the sale of the franchise. Just a huge development. A guy from the area purchasing the team and actually investing money in it? It's a dream come true for Orioles fans. I can't say enough how huge this would be. 

Ourand writes that the group will start off by owning around 40% of the club and then will purchase the remainder following the death of Peter Angelos. Peter has been behind the scenes for years due to illnesses and hasn't been seen in public for a few years. It's a sad story because he really was a good owner who enjoyed spending money on his franchise. Once the sons took over it quickly took a different turn, it became about money and not the game. The fact that numbers were talked about in the article, the $1.725 Billion makes me believe this isn't just pulled out of thin air. I think talks have progressed to the point where they felt comfortable releasing it. Before it seemed like it was just kind of a generic report, this is different to me. 

The MLB owners meetings are next week in Orlando and it is expected that they will be updated and briefed on the status of the deal then. Ourand does report in the article that "while Rubenstein and Arougheti have reached an agreement with Angelos, there isn't a timetable for the deal to close." He says an agreement has been made and I think I believe him. I really do. I think more of this will come out soon but this is a massive, massive deal for the team and fans. 

Here is another reason they would want to wait until after Peter is dead to fully sell the team, the inheritance tax. John will be paying an insane amount in inheritance tax, which he does not want to do. It makes sense. If they sold while Peter is still alive it would cost the family an insane amount, talking over $100 Million in capital-gains tax. It goes down significantly if the sale goes down after Peter has died. I believe that is a huge factor, the tax and money that the family would have to pay. 

This is all very fluid obviously. Any time you are dealing with the Angelos family who knows what could be true and what could be false. But as I type this more and more outlets are taking the story and running. Bloomberg reporting it, Sports Illustrated and their AI bots reporting it, although it would be nice to see another news outlet confirm the report other than Puck. 

Call me crazy but I think this is the dawn of a new day in Baltimore. We've got Orioles players liking the tweets that the team is being sold, Rubenstein liking tweets about Orioles players. I fully believe this is happening sooner rather than later. An owner willing to spend money and also just happens to have the best young players in baseball? You all are fucked. 

A new day is coming Orioles fans, and this man is here to save the day. Thank you Uncle David, thank you.

UPDATE -

Multiple other sources are reporting the sale is agreed upon and the Iron Man himself is involved. What a god damn day for Baltimore!

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