HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane
announced Monday that he has agreed to sell the team he has owned for 19
years to a group led by local businessman Jim Crane, the man who tried
to buy the team three years ago.
Terms were not disclosed and the
team scheduled an afternoon news conference to discuss details. The sale
is subject to approval by Major League Baseball.
McLane bought the team in November 1992 for about $117 million. He put the franchise up for sale in
November.
Crane approached McLane about buying the Astros in 2008, but was turned down.
Crane,
who founded a Houston-based logistics company in 2008, is the chairman
and chief executive of Crane Capital, a private equity fund company. In
2009, he was in the running to buy the Chicago Cubs and last summer he
tried to buy the Texas Rangers, but both times he fell short.
McLane has raved about Crane and thinks the team will be in good hands once the deal is completed.
"He’s
an experienced, very knowledgeable business person," McLane said last
week. "He has a passion for baseball. He lives here and will continue to
live here. He understands the community."
The deal is expected to
address the team’s lease at Minute Maid Park, which is owned by the
Harris County Houston Sports Authority. McLane has also said a regional
sports network was part of the discussion, referring to the team’s share
in a new deal with the NBA’s Houston Rockets that will begin airing
Rockets games in 2012 and Astros games in the 2013 season. The network
has been a major selling point in the deal.
The Astros sale has none of the drama that came with the Rangers last year.
After
a bankruptcy auction against Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Chuck
Greenberg and Ryan led a group that bought the team from Tom Hicks last
August in a deal valued at $590 million. Greenberg became chief
executive officer, then left on March 11 and sold his ownership stake.
Ryan, the team president, took over as CEO and his ownership was
formally approved last week by MLB.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.