![Private-equity billionaire David Rubenstein has been unanimously approved by Major League Baseball owners to become the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles. [X/Screenshot/Public — @DM_Rubenstein]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-27-175209-e1711576405393.png "Private-equity billionaire David Rubenstein has been unanimously approved by Major League Baseball owners to become the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles. [X/Screenshot/Public — @DM_Rubenstein]")
The Orioles are officially free!
Private equity billionaire David Rubenstein has been unanimously approved by Major League Baseball owners to become the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles.
Eventually handing both Rubenstein and his ownership group a 70% stake in the Orioles franchise, the accelerated sale is transferring power over the team from the Angelos family to Rubenstein in under two months.
The price tag of $1.725 billion for the O’s is the third-most for any professional baseball team sold, coming after the $2.4 billion purchase of the New York Mets in 2020 by Steven Cohen and the Los Angeles Dodgers going for $2.15 billion in a 2012 sale to a Mark Walter-led group. When Peter Angelos bought the Orioles in 1993, it cost him $173 million. (RELATED: Diamondbacks Sign Jordan Montgomery On 1-Year, $25 Million Deal: REPORT)
Rubenstein is also bringing along investors, including Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill, Ares Management investment firm CEO Michael Arougheti, former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke and ex-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The new majority owner is a lifelong fan of the Orioles and grew up in Baltimore.
Rubenstein inherits a team that won 101 games in the 2023 regular season, an American League-best, as well as the AL East division championship.
My video message to @Orioles fans…the Next Chapter starts now: pic.twitter.com/52h2swTHSn
— David M. Rubenstein (@DM_Rubenstein) March 27, 2024
If you’re a fan of baseball, you’ve gotta love seeing this.
I’ve got multiple connections to the Baltimore Orioles through family, so for me personally (after hearing them complain for YEARS about Peter Angelos), it’s pretty cool to see the franchise finally be free.
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty! The O’s are free at last!