Bush-Jeter group wins auction to buy Marlins for $1.3 billion

The group headed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former Yankees’ legend Derek Jeter are expected to be the new owners of the Marlins after winning an auction to buy the team for $1.3 billion, according to reports from Bloomberg’s Scott Soshnick and The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.

The Bush-Jeter group beat out three other parties for the Marlins, which are owned by Jeff Loria, according to Soshnick. One party was Quogue Capital LLC founder Wayne Rothbaum, Solamere Capital co-founder Tagg Romney and former All-Star pitcher Tom Glavine. Another party was the Kushner family, which are “relatives by marriage to President Donald Trump.” The third was a group led by Tagg Romney, son of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Jackson tweeted that his source said the plan for the group is that Bush will be “the control person” for the organization. As for Jeter, Jackson says the 14-time All-Star will have “an active role” with the Marlins.

The deal for the team is still pending approval from Major League Baseball. However, Soshnick says it “probably won’t be an issue” for the group because Bush is a former presidential candidate and his brother is former President George W. Bush, who once owned the Rangers. In addition, Jeter is a five-time World Series champion, a future Hall-of-Famer and a Tampa resident who has said since his retirement following the 2014 season that his ultimate goal is to buy a team.

The Marlins are currently worth $940 million, according to Forbes. Loria bought the team for $158 million in 2002 and helped the franchise win two World Series in 1997 and 2003, with the title in 2003 coming against Jeter’s Yankees.