Angelos Family Agrees to Sell the Baltimore Orioles
Following several distraught years within the Orioles fanbase, the day that many supporters of the team had been waiting for finally arrived on Tuesday evening, as team chairman and CEO John Angelos officially agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles. According to reports, the Angelos family, led by John, will sell the Orioles to two private equity billionaires, including David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti for $1.725 billion. According to the Baltimore Banner, numerous others, including team legend Cal Ripken Jr., will have smaller ownership roles. Rubenstein and Arougheti will initially acquire a 40% share of the franchise once the deal is finalized, with the remaining 60% being given to the new owners once John Angelo’s father, Peter Angelos, who is 94, passes away. According to earlier sources, the family would pay a large amount in capital gains taxes if they sold the franchise before Peter Angelos passed away. Now, MLB must approve the sale of the Orioles, as owners will be meeting next week in Orlando, Florida. The 30 major league teams must vote in favor of the sale by a minimum of 75% of the owners.
Since 1993, when Peter Angelos paid $173 million to acquire the Orioles, the team has been owned by the Angelos family. Since 2020, John, Angelos’ son, has served as the team’s managing partner and chair as Peter battles dementia. This past offseason, the Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority reached an agreement for the team to stay in Camden Yards for the next 15 years, with the option to extend the agreement to 30 years. Rubenstein, who is a Baltimore native, had expressed interest in buying the Washington Nationals in the past. Before founding the Carlyle Group Inc. in 1987, Rubenstein was a Washington-based lawyer. He served as President Jimmy Carter’s deputy assistant for domestic policy from 1977 to until 1981. Following his graduation from Duke in 1970, he proceeded to study law at the University of Chicago.
The Orioles just finished a season with 101 wins, earning them their first American League East championship since 2014. The squad’s low salary and spending has been a source of grievance from fans for several years, and the offseason has been quiet thus far for the team. Initially, with the Angelos family under the helm, the Orioles had spent aggressively, for a short period, as they won the division in 1997 and had talents that included Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Mike Mussina and more. However, the Orioles didn’t return to the postseason after that until 2012, when manager Buck Showalter led them back to relevance. They ultimately had to start over after losing at least 108 games in 2018, 2019 and 2021, with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. For a franchise that hasn’t won a World Series since 1983, the future appears as bright as it has in a long time with budding talents Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, as well as another elite prospect on the way in Jackson Holliday. The Orioles may have a long window of contention if the new ownership group is willing and successful in extending Baltimore’s youthful core of talent to long-term deals.
