Possible $3.9B Sale Of Padres To Premier League Club Owner Underway

SAN DIEGO, CA — While nothing has yet been confirmed by the team, the Wall Street Journal and other sources Friday said a deal to sell the San Diego Padres to Chelsea FC co-owner José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones for $3.9 billion is nearly finished.

The sale, if the price quoted by the WSJ is accurate, would be the largest in Major League Baseball History. Feliciano is also co-founder of Santa Monica-based Clearlake Capital.

Following the death of Padres chairman and owner Peter Seidler in 2023, the battle over Padres ownership has been a murky and at times contentious matter, with infighting and lawsuits between Seidler's widow, Sheel, and his siblings.

Last November, the Seidler family, owners of the Padres since 2012, announced it was beginning a formal process to explore strategic options, including the possible sale of the franchise.

"The family has decided to begin a process of evaluating our future with the Padres, including a potential sale of the franchise," John Seidler, Padres chairman and brother of former owner Peter Seidler, said last year. "We will undertake this process with integrity and professionalism in a way that honors Peter's legacy and love for the Padres and lays the foundation for the franchise's long-term success."

"During the process and as we prepare for the 2026 season, the Padres will continue to focus on its players, employees, fans and community while putting every resource into winning a World Series championship. We remain fully committed to this team, its fans and the San Diego community."

Owning baseball teams ran in Seidler's family. His grandfather, Walter O'Malley, owned the Dodgers before and after their move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and his uncle, Peter O'Malley, owned the Dodgers for many years after Walter's death.

However, Seidler did not go right into baseball. He earned his master's degree in business administration from UCLA, then launched a private equity firm, Seidler Equity Partners, in 1992.

In 2012, Seidler followed the family tradition and took the plunge into team ownership. He partnered with Peter O'Malley and Ron Fowler to form the O'Malley Group, which in turn purchased the Padres.

They collectively owned the team until 2020, when Seidler bought out Fowler's shares to become the primary owner. An avid baseball fan, Seidler pumped a considerable amount of money into the team. Its payroll increased to the sixth-highest in the sport in 2022 and the third highest in 2023.

The previous record for an MLB team sale was set in 2020, when Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets for $2.4 billion. Seidler and associates purchased the Padres for $800 million in 2012.

Before being finalized, the sale must be approved by 75% of MLB's owners, with the next owners meetings scheduled for June.

The Padres, on an eight-game winning streak, were valued by Forbes at $3.1 billion this March.

— City News Service