Twins not for sale as Pohlad family to remain owners, add on limited partnership groups

After 10 months of exploring a sale, the Pohlad family announced in a statement Wednesday it would retain ownership of the Twins while adding on two minority ownership groups.

Less than a month after commissioner Rob Manfred confidently stated “there will be a transaction,” the family issued the statement saying it will continue a stewardship it began in 1984 when Carl Pohlad purchased the club for $44 million from Calvin Griffith.

“Over the past several months, we explored a wide range of potential investment and ownership opportunities. Our focus throughout has been on what’s best for the long-term future of the Twins. We have been fully open to all possibilities.

“To strengthen the club in a rapidly evolving sports landscape — one that demands strong partnerships, fresh ideas, and long-term vision – we are in the process of adding two significant limited partnership groups, each of whom will bring a wealth of experience and share our family values.”

The Pohlad family originally placed the team on the market last October, less than a year after making a controversial decision to slash payroll by $30 million in the aftermath of the team winning its first playoff series in 21 years.

The Twins hired New York City-based capital market company Allen & Company to facilitate the club’s sale.

Estimated to be worth $1.7 billion by Sportico, the Twins initially drew strong interest from Justin Ishbia, who emerged as a potential owner in December.

Ishbia was seen as the “leader in the clubhouse” to purchase the club only to switch gears in January and increase his minority stake in the Chicago White Sox. Ishbia purchased an additional 30 percent share of the White Sox and that club announced a plan for him to eventually take on majority ownership from Jerry Reinsdorf in five years.

After Ishbia abandoned his pursuit of the Twins, sources close to the sale process suggested they would regroup and look for new suitors. Despite messages that the sale was progressing with multiple interested parties, the sources suggested the Twins were having difficulty attracting potential majority owners.

Though the team drew the interest of multiple limited partnership groups, nobody with the financial wherewithal to purchase a large chunk of the club emerged.

A major issue limiting a sale was the $425 million in debt incurred by the Twins during the Pohlad stewardship — believed to be one of the higher income to debt ratios in baseball — and how much any potential owner would absorb in a potential sale.

The announcement comes in the wake of the front office tearing down the team’s roster at the trade deadline.

Less than two weeks ago, Twins president Derek Falvey and general manager Jeremy Zoll traded 10 players off the major-league roster in the week leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, an endeavor that included trading star shortstop Carlos Correa to Houston, a move purely done as a salary dump. The Twins only received a 26-year-old High-A pitcher in return for Correa and agreed to pay $33 million of the $102.5 million remaining on the $200 million contract the shortstop signed in January 2023.

(Photo: Bailey Hillesheim / Icon Sports)




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