A group headed by former NBA superstar Magic Johnson has agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise for $2Billion dollars. The group buying the Dodgers is led by former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson — along with MLB and NBA executive Stan Kasten, and Peter Guber, head of Mandalay Entertainment, and financed by Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners (a Chicago-based financial services firm) — agreed to buy the Dodgers from owner Frank McCourt for $2.15 billion, a deal that includes the Chavez Ravine parking lots.
The deal came after MLB approved the three finalists Tuesday March 27, 2012. If the cash deal is approved by the judge overseeing the Dodgers’ bankruptcy, the price will be the most ever paid for a professional sports team. The record is the $1.4 billion purchase price for the Manchester United soccer team, and the most paid for a North American sports franchise was $1.15 billion in 2009 for the Miami Dolphins. It was just four years ago when the Chicago Cubs was the most paid for a baseball franchise at $845 million.
