CA newspaper heir Kevin McClatchy said yesterday he has
reached "an agreement in principle" to buy the Pirates and keep
them in Pittsburgh and expects preliminary approval from baseball
within the next 2-5 days. Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST
reports that McClatchy's deal sets the price at the club at $90M
-- $65M in debt assumption and $25M in cash. However, "there
apparently are stumbling blocks in McClatchy's deal," including
the involvement of Liberty Media. McClatchy says MLB's past
disapproval of ownership by TV networks shouldn't be a problem
because Liberty would own less than 10% of the Pirates. Another
potential problem is the involvement of the Pittsburgh law firm
of Reed Smith in the ownership group. MLB officials are unsure
if Smith's representation of McClatchy during negotiations for
the club will be paid for in cash or "in exchange for services
already rendered." There have been questions whether McClatchy's
bid involved enough cash to succeed (WASHINGTON POST, 9/28).
Meanwhile, DC attorney Bart Fisher, who heads Allegheny Baseball,
another group interested in the Pirates, said the delay means
McClatchy's "deal could be falling apart." Fisher claims his
group made a $90M offer Monday and still hopes to buy the team.
Fisher intends to keep the club in Pittsburgh (Thom Loverro,
WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/28).
