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October 10, 2008
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Report Claims Padres Owner Moores To Sell Large Stake In Team

Moores Reportedly Selling Partial Stake
In Padres As Part Of Divorce Proceedings
Padres Owner John Moores "will sell at least 49% of the team as part of a divorce settlement with his wife Becky," according to sources cited by Jim Stone of KNSD-NBC. The Jacobs family, the founders of Qualcomm, and "one another unidentified local family appear interested in buying that interest in the team." However, under terms of a sale, John Moores would "still be the majority owner. He’d still be calling the shots, but that could change within time.” Becky Moores in February filed for divorce after more than 44 years of marriage (NBCSANDIEGO.com, 10/9). The Padres issued a statement regarding the report, which reads in part, "This report is highly speculative. Obviously, since the Padres are part of the community estate, the matter of the Padres will need to be addressed as part of the divorce proceedings. No decision regarding the Padres has been made, and the divorce proceedings are the subject of confidential mediation" (Padres). In San Diego, Tom Krasovic notes the Moores' daughter, Jennifer, owns a "minority stake in the club," and John Moores "has said several times that he wants his daughter to inherit the club at some point." John and Becky Moores in '94 bought 80% of the Padres for a reported $80M, and it is "uncertain how much of the team they now own" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/10).

REAX: In San Diego, Tim Sullivan writes, "Characterizing a story as 'highly speculative' is attorney talk for 'none of your business.' It is neither a confirmation nor a denial, but a transparent tactic designed to create doubt without actually disputing any of the specific assertions." Given the "petty nature of the disputes that have become public during Moores' divorce proceedings, the sale of a significant portion of the Padres has seemed inevitable for many weeks." But even if the divorce "were more amicable, it would be difficult to bridge the irreconcilable differences between baseball's requirement of a single controlling partner and California's community property laws." Sullivan: "If John Moores is determined to retain his grip on a franchise Forbes valued at $385[M] as recently as April, he must find other means to satisfy Becky Moores' claim to half of their assets" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/10).


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