The family of the late Roy Disney has partnered with Shamrock Holdings President & CEO Stanley Gold, "entrusting the man who runs the family investment firm to lead the charge for the Dodgers and try to restore prominent local ownership to the team," according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. Sources said that Gold is "in discussions with potential investors." Forbes indicated that Roy Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney, "had a net worth of $1.4 billion in 2007." The "current net worth of the Roy Disney family is unclear." The Disney family "would hold the Dodgers as a private investment" (L.A. TIMES, 1/8). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman noted Gold, long a "major figure in the Los Angeles business world," has "signed a nondisclosure agreement that clears the way for him to bid" for the Dodgers (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/7). Meanwhile, the L.A. TIMES' Shaikin cited sources as saying that L.A.-based Ares Capital co-Founder & Managing Partner Tony Ressler "has expressed interest in pursuing the Dodgers." Ressler was a "minority investor in the ownership group that bought" the Brewers in '05 (L.A. TIMES, 1/8). ESPN L.A.'s Ramona Shelburne cited a source as saying that Blackstone Group, the investment firm handling the sale of the Dodgers, has "begun scheduling tours of Dodger Stadium with prospective ownership groups." However, tour opportunities are "only being offered to groups that the Blackstone Group considers serious at this point" (ESPNLA.com, 1/6).
