Source: Joshua Kushner Has Preliminary Deal To Buy Marlins From Loria For $1.6B

Joshua Kushner has a "preliminary agreement to buy" the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria for around $1.6B, according to a source cited by Steven Wine of the AP. The source said that the agreement "preceded due diligence" and the final offer "could be much lower" than $1.6B. Other parties also are "interested in buying the Marlins, and Loria might reopen negotiations with them." Jared Kushner, Joshua's brother and husband of Ivanka Trump, is not thought to be "part of the effort to buy the team." Charles Kushner, their father, also is not part of the bid. Charles Kushner "ran the family real estate firm until he went to prison for tax evasion, making illegal campaign contributions and witness intimidation." MLB on Thursday put out a statement saying the Commissioner's Office "must be informed of any conversations about a potential sale," and that the office "has not heard directly or indirectly of any conversation involving Charles Kushner" (AP, 2/10). In N.Y., Sorkin & de la Merced cited sources as saying that Joshua Kushner and his brother-in-law, Joseph Meyer, have "pursued the Marlins for several months, devising a complicated financial arrangement that would include bringing in partners later" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/10). In Miami, Clark Spencer in a front-page piece notes it was an "unusual step" by MLB on Thursday of "quashing" the reports of Charles Kushner's involvement in the deal. While the possible sale is in the early stages, a source said that "it’s all but certain" that Loria will "end up getting rid of the team." Sources said that Loria has "told associates that, before selling the franchise, he would prefer to maintain ownership of the team through the All-Star Game, which will be held in July at Marlins Park." Spencer notes outside of the World Series title in '03, the Marlins have "mostly struggled on and off the field under Loria’s stewardship." The team has "continued to rank near the bottom of all MLB teams in attendance despite the forecast for larger crowds once it moved into its new ballpark" in '12. The Marlins "haven’t finished with a winning record" since '09 (MIAMI HERALD, 2/10).

DON'T SHED NO TEARS: YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan writes under the header, "The Glorious Exit Of Jeffrey Loria, The Worst Owner In Sports." The potential sale of the club would "bring to an end an ownership reign that stained the sport for more than a decade." Loria, who in '02 paid $158.5M for the team, is "going to parlay a disastrous run as a baseball owner into a spot on the list of billionaires." Passan: "He’ll join Ted Stepien and Donald Sterling and Harold Ballard on worst-owner lists. He’ll be a punch line for the managers he fired, the trades he forced, the interference he ran all the way to the end of his tenure" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/10). SI.com's Rohan Nadkarni writes Loria is "one of the worst owners in sports," as he has "screwed over fans and was an overall embarrassment for South Florida" (SI.com, 2/10). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes, "Spring is a time for hope in baseball, and there's no more hopeful story than Loria selling the Marlins and hurrying his thickened wallet out of town." Hyde: "Does anyone in South Florida unite fans more in disdain? Has any sports owner profited more from taking more and giving less? And could anyone do a worse job than Loria in running the Marlins?" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 2/10).