Former Owner Peter O'Malley's Dodgers Bid Backed By Korean Company

Former Dodgers Owner Peter O'Malley's bid to buy back the Dodgers "is supported by financing from the South Korean conglomerate E-Land," according to sources cited by Shaikin & Glionna of the L.A. TIMES. One source said that if the O'Malley bid "is successful, E-Land Chairman Song Soo Park will become a major investor in the Dodgers." The ownership group "also would have investors" from L.A. A source said that O'Malley "has had discussions" with L.A.-based Ares Capital co-Founder & Managing Partner Tony Ressler, who was a minority investor in the ownership group that purchased the Brewers in '05. Under the plan, O'Malley "would be the Dodgers' chief executive." An E-Land spokesperson confirmed today that the company "is involved in the Dodgers bidding but would not elaborate." O'Malley declined to comment. Shaikin & Glionna note among Korean baseball fans "in chat rooms and on bulletin boards, the reaction leaned negative." Rather than being "proud of owning a foreign franchise as a way to extend Korean cultural and economic influence abroad, many fans [in South Korea] wondered why their moneyed elite didn't invest their millions in Korean clubs." Also, despite the experience of the Mariners, whose majority owner is Kyoto-based Nintendo, the fans "expressed skepticism that foreign-backed ownership would be permitted." The people who "liked the idea said it would pave the way for more Korean talent to make its way to the major leagues" (L.A. TIMES, 1/31).

DIDN'T MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE: Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban appeared on "Access Hollywood" yesterday and said of his failed bid to purchase the Dodgers, "It just didn’t work out. I wanted to buy a baseball team; they were selling a media rights deal." Cuban added, "The economics got so out of control because the Dodgers’ TV deal’s up for bid and so there’s a lot of groups coming in going, ‘This TV deal’s worth so much money that we’re gonna pay whatever it takes to get the Dodgers.’ And so they’re buying the TV rights deal first and the team second. There’s a lot of great people bidding on it. I just wasn’t going to go through that given all those circumstances" (ACCESSHOLLYWOOD.com, 1/30).