A group led by St. Louis attorney Frederick Hanser, former
Rangers and Orioles part-owner William DeWitt, Jr., and Southwest
Bank Chair Andrew Baur has reached a conditional agreement with
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. to purchase the Cardinals,
according to a statement released by Anheuser-Busch. The group
will keep the team in St. Louis and the transaction is subject to
approval by MLB. The conditional agreement was approved by the
A-B Companies Board of Directors December 20, and the sale price
for the team, Busch Memorial Stadium, and several nearby parking
garages is $150M, including stadium naming rights. A-B will
complete a $6M renovation of Busch Stadium and will remain a
major advertising and promotional sponsor. Other investors
include Stephen Brauer, Donna DeWitt Lambert, John Wallace, G.
Watts Humphrey, Robert Castellini and Mercer Reynolds. In
addition, Pulitzer Sports II, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Pulitzer Publishing Co. is an investor (A-B).
PIRATES SALE: Pirates buyer Kevin McClatchy met the current
owners' final demands by producing a letter confirming he met
MLB's equity guidelines. McClatchy met with MLB executives in
New York before Christmas and got a letter of approval December
22 (NEWSDAY, 12/23).
