Angels Owner Arte Moreno to Explore Sale of Franchise

The Los Angeles Angels hired Galatioto Sports Partners to explore the sale of the franchise, owner Arte Moreno announced in a statement on Tuesday. 

Moreno purchased the team for $183.5 million in 2003, a year after the club won its only World Series title. The team was most recently valued at $2.2 billion, according to Forbes. 

With a top-10 MLB payroll of $179 million featuring three-time MVP Mike Trout and reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani, expectations for 2022 were high — until the Angels went on a franchise-record 14-game losing streak that ended in June. 

Moreno’s $320 million deal to purchase Angel Stadium and the surrounding parking lot from the city of Anaheim fell apart amid a federal investigation.

• The city council voted to terminate the sale in May, and mayor Harry Sidhu resigned amid accusations of bribery and obstruction of justice. 
• The city was expected to refund $50 million to Moreno, plus as much as $5 million in transaction costs and potential legal fees.
• Proposed legislation would allow California’s Department of Housing and Community Development to block projects that violate state housing laws.

More on the Market

The Angels are the second MLB franchise actively looking for a sale or alternatives to its ownership makeup. 

In April, Washington Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner announced that the team would explore a sale. The bidding process is expected to conclude within the next several weeks and the team is expected to fetch between $2 billion and $3 billion.