[Baltimore Sun] Sale of Orioles after Peter Angelos’ death: Here’s what we know
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The death of Orioles owner Peter Angelos raises questions about what happens to the team now. Here are five key questions and answers:
How will Angelos’ death affect the pending sale of the Orioles?
Angelos’ death on Saturday will not affect current plans in place for the sale valuing the team at $1.725 billion, according to Chris Ullman, a spokesperson for David Rubenstein, 74, the leader of the group buying the club. Rubenstein, a philanthropist and Baltimore native, is co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.
The Rubenstein group will initially assume a nearly 40 percent ownership stake in the Orioles. The money to acquire that stake will come from Rubenstein and other members of the group. That group has an agreement to purchase the Angelos family’s remaining equity now that Peter Angelos has passed away.
His death does not change those terms, Ullman said. Rubenstein is still expected to receive final approval from Major League Baseball soon — perhaps before Thursday’s season-opening game — and will succeed club chairman and CEO John Angelos as the team’s “control person,” meaning he will be accountable to Major League Baseball for the club. Several preliminary approvals already have been secured with MLB and the Maryland Stadium Authority for this first phase of the purchase from the Angelos family.
With Peter Angelos’ passing, Rubenstein’s group has the ability under the agreement to purchase more of the team over time. It is unclear what that timeline looks like going forward.
Court documents from a few years ago showed the Angelos family held about a two-thirds stake in the club.
In January, Rubenstein formed a new entity called Inner Harbor Sports LLC, in Delaware. Both Rubenstein and Ares Management co-founder Michael Arougheti, who is set to be a part of the new ownership group, are listed as co-presidents of Inner Harbor Sports, according to a resolution approved last week by the Maryland Stadium Authority approving the Orioles’ ownership transfer.
Who owns the team pending approval of the sale?
Peter’s widow, Georgia Angelos, 82, has effectively been the owner because he gave her power of attorney when he became incapacitated years ago. A suit filed on her behalf in August 2022 included a claim that Peter’s wishes were that the Orioles “should be sold on his death so Georgia could enjoy the great wealth they had amassed together.” The documents indicated she was preparing to do so, noting she “had retained Goldman Sachs and Jones Day to provide investment banking and legal services in connection with the sale of the Orioles.” In 1993, Angelos, the family patriarch, bought the club for $173 million.
Who is in Rubenstein’s group?
The partnership group includes team icon Cal Ripken Jr., former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke. It also includes former NBA star Grant Hill and Arougheti. Also on the list are Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, co-heads of the Ares Credit Group, business leader Michele Kang and others.
Will the Rubenstein group be bound by the team’s stadium lease?
Yes. The Orioles and the stadium authority, which oversees Camden Yards, agreed on a lease in December, just weeks before the current agreement was set to expire. That lease will keep the Orioles in Baltimore for at least 15 years and unlocks at least $400 million in state investment for the ballpark.
What do we know about David Rubenstein?
Rubenstein, who played Little League Baseball in Baltimore and attended Baltimore City College, had long told friends he hoped for the opportunity to one day take a swing at buying his hometown club.
Rubenstein grew up in Baltimore the son of a mailman and a homemaker. After City College, he graduated from Duke University in 1970 and the University of Chicago Law School shortly thereafter. He practiced law in New York for a few years before going to Washington, first serving as chief counsel to a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee, then joining the administration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977 as a deputy assistant for domestic policy.
He returned to practicing law before co-founding the Carlyle Group in 1987.
A 2010 profile of Rubenstein in The Baltimore Sun painted him as an active contributor to his many philanthropic pursuits.
At the time, Rubenstein sat on about 30 nonprofit boards. He was married at the time to Alice Rogoff — they divorced in 2017 — and is the father of three grown children.
He is a longtime baseball fan.
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