A last-minute agreement was reached Wednesday "that
leaves two competing groups at bat to buy" the A's for
$120M, according to Laura Counts of the OAKLAND TRIBUNE.
The deal, which was "struck" after yesterday's 5:00pm
deadline for bids on the team, gives the Oakland-Alameda
County Coliseum Authority and investment firm Game Plan Inc.
until May 11 "to decide which group has a better chance of
being approved by" MLB. The latest transaction means the
A's have now signed two separate $12M deposit agreements.
One is with Save Mart Foods Chair Bob Piccinini, who is a
member of former A's exec Andy Dolich's group, and the other
is with East Bay LLC Manager Lyle Campbell, who is
partnering with CA attorney Michael Lazarus and Steve Stone.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said yesterday that
"a compromise was needed" because Dolich's group wanted to
be the sole group bidding for the team. According to the
sales agreement between the team and the Coliseum Authority,
the A's "were only required to enter into an escrow
agreement with one buyer." As a result, the Dolich group
maintained that it met the guidelines for the sale, has
stronger local ties than the Campbell group "and should be
the one." Dolich: "What we think the community is looking
for is a local group of business people, civic leaders,
baseball people and people with experience in the local
political structure who will make a longterm commitment."
Both groups agreed to pay $122.4M for the team, including a
$2.4M fee to Game Plan, and have said they will not sue the
A's if their bid is not selected (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 4/22).
