Tom Hicks Now Open To Selling Majority Share Of MLB Rangers

Hicks Says He Is Selling Part Of Rangers, But Unsure How Much

MLB Rangers Owner Tom Hicks yesterday said that he may be "'open' to selling a majority share" of the franchise, according to Randy Galloway of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. Hicks in March announced his intention to seek minority investors for the Rangers and his other sports properties, including the Stars, but the "ante has now been substantially upped." Hicks: "I am selling part of the Rangers. I don’t know how big of a part. Yes, I’d be open to selling more than a minority share, but it depends on who the partners are." Hicks in March was "adamant that despite his complicated and ongoing financial hassle with a variety of business-venture lenders, he had absolutely no plans to sell a majority interest" in the Rangers. However, this is an "ongoing story with moving parts," and for "someone in Hicks' financial circles, things change as much as the ups and downs of a depressed national market." Some suggest that Rangers President Nolan Ryan, in conjunction with investors, "would have an interest in buying a majority share." Ryan yesterday said, "Knowing nothing about what the details are, and having not been involved in discussions (about being a majority owner), there’s no way I can comment on any of this." Ryan said it is "hard to say" whether he would be interested in majority ownership. Galloway notes on the sale of any MLB team, Commissioner Bud Selig is "involved in determining partners, since it’s a process where all investors have to eventually be checked out and approved by the other owners." Under those guidelines, Hicks is "being advised, and it can be assumed, also being given a list of potential investors by the commissioner’s office." Galloway notes there will be "plenty of interested tire-kickers, although the price tag will determine that number." Hicks in March reportedly had valued the Rangers at more than $600M, and "he won't get that," but the $450M "range will draw some deep pockets to the bargaining table" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/28).