Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria, "unable to attract a bid at his already reduced" $1.3B asking price, may soon "face a tough choice -- cut the price a second time or take his money-losing team off the block," according to sources cited by Kosman & Davidoff of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that neither of the two bidding groups -- including one with Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter at the top -- have "met the asking price." In a "dramatic finish to an otherwise lackluster auction," both the Bush-Jeter group and a second group -- led by Tagg Romney -- are "frantically reaching out to a small group of billionaires in a last-ditch effort to bolster their bids." But sources said that in their "respective dialing for dollars dash, both groups are striking out." An investment banking source said, "I don't think anybody will get to $1.3 billion." Kosman & Davidoff noted some believe Loria will "pull the team off the market and try again next year." Sources said that the Marlins have "borrowed roughly" $100M through a credit line against the MLB national media contract, and the team has a roughly $300M JPMorgan-led credit line. Loria has "used those facilities to cover the team's losses." Sources said that the JPMorgan credit line arranged over four years ago is "mostly tapped." MLB would "need to approve a new larger JPM loan if Loria wants to borrow more money to cover losses" (NYPOST.com, 5/25).
