In October, Twins owner Joe Pohlad announced that his family was considering selling the franchise. The Pohlad family has owned the Twins for 40 years, so the sale process sets the stage for dramatic changes for the organization. This looks like it could be moving quickly.
Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that potential buyers have shown strong interest. Hayes said a sales agreement could be signed on Opening Day. He noted that MLB has already begun vetting interested parties and will delve deeper into certain candidates as the process nears its conclusion.
The identities of most of the suitors are unknown. Bloomberg reported last month that NBA and WNBA Phoenix owners Justin Ishbia and Mat Ishbia were interested in the twins. While Mat Ishbia is the majority owner of the basketball team, Justin Ishbia will acquire majority ownership of the Twins if the family submits the winning bid.
They obviously face some level of competition. One family doesn’t seem to be among them: the Wilfs, owners of the NFL’s Vikings. Mark Wilf told Ben Gosling of the Minnesota Star Tribune that they are “enthusiastic about the Vikings in a good way.” Wilf admitted he “always talks about these things” when an opportunity like the Twins’ comes up, but he downplayed the idea of getting involved in a bid.
Regardless, Hayes reports that the Pollard family is planning to sell the franchise entirely to whoever ends up being a buyer. Once MLB approves the sale, the new ownership group will take over control, which requires a 75% vote from the league’s other ownership groups. That should ultimately impact the front office’s available spending power, but is unlikely to impact this offseason. Minnesota made no moves in free agency and said their financial profit would be minimal unless they lost money on the deal.
The most recent team to be sold is the Orioles, which a group led by David Rubenstein bought from the Angelos family last January for $1.725 billion. Last year, Forbes valued the twins at $1.46 billion. In 1984, the Pohlad family purchased the franchise for $44 million.
