Pohlads seeking at least $1.7B for Twins, have more than $425M in debt on books: Sources

New York Times

25-03-2025

By Dan Hayes, Ken Rosenthal, Brittany Ghiroli
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Pohlad family is believed to be seeking at least $1.7 billion to sell the Minnesota Twins, though it's unclear whether they can get that amount, and if not, whether they will ultimately keep the team.
A month after billionaire Justin Ishbia spurned the Twins to increase his minority stake in the Chicago White Sox, the Twins are just starting to renew the sale process, according to multiple sources briefed on the matter. Last Wednesday, the firm leading the sale process requested groups submit proposals with intent of interest, with multiple parties clearing that bar, those sources said. The Twins, in talks with one interested group, deemed a $1.5 billion valuation a non-starter.
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Any professional team sale is complicated but Minnesota's presents specific challenges because of market size, questions about future profitability, and the team's current debt. The Twins have accrued in excess of $425 million of debt, according to multiple people briefed on the sale process, which is one of the highest figures among MLB's 30 teams.
Though nearly every team operates with debt, the Pohlad family — which has owned the team for 40 years — is motivated to ask for a higher sale price as a result, potentially limiting interest. A considerable portion of the team's debt has been added since the start of the 2020 season, according to a club source, which coincided with both the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd's murder in downtown Minneapolis.
In 2024, the Twins were estimated to be worth between $1.46 billion and $1.7 billion by Forbes and Sportico, respectively. Though if Minnesota were to sell on the lower end, say for $1.5 billion, its walkaway number would be much lower unless the potential buyer agreed to absorb all of the debt, a scenario that is unlikely.
Ideally, the league would prefer an owner with strong ties to the area, but the number of potential lead investors with links to Minnesota might be more limited than it would be in a larger market. Further complicating matters is the belief that current Twins executive chair Joe Pohlad would prefer to stay in control of the club, multiple sources told The Athletic. Whether Pohlad would remain in some capacity with a new ownership group isn't an impossibility, multiple sources said.
Major League Baseball also wants the Twins to sell at the highest possible valuation, knowing it would boost the values of the other 29 teams and speak to the sport's overall health.
Last March, the Baltimore Orioles became just the fifth MLB franchise to be sold in the past decade when the club was purchased for $1.725 billion. The New York Mets had a $350 million debt when Steve Cohen purchased controlling interest in the team for $2.4 billion in 2020, though Cohen is the richest owner in the sport.
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Had Ishbia further pursued the Twins, it likely would have been a much cleaner, quicker sale, as his net worth of $5.4 billion puts him in the upper echelon of owner wealth, a list Cohen tops at $21.3 billion. The bigger stake the majority owner takes on, the less of a need for other minority partners. In the bidding process, these kingpins are called anchors. The Mets, though, have much higher revenue streams than Minnesota, which does not own its ballpark, Target Field (they lease it from the city), and has seen waning attendance and lost its regional sports network money. Multiple revenue streams are attractive to potential buyers, particularly as the sport faces uncertainty around the future of its national television rights.
The Twins have failed to draw 2 million fans since 2019 despite winning the American League Central in 2023, when they spent a club-record $154 million on payroll. They were forced to take a lesser broadcast deal in 2024, after their RSN paid them $54 million in 2023. This year, they're streaming via MLB with the team's payout to be determined. The Minneapolis-St. Paul television market is the 11th smallest in the majors.
With all of those factors at play, what seems clear is any potential sale of the Twins, which once appeared possible by as early as Opening Day, now likely won't happen soon.
'The Pohlads are not under pressure to sell,' a source briefed on negotiations said. 'They are going to be deliberate about it. They really value the process and they want the process to play out in the fullest.'
New York City-based capital market company Allen & Company is facilitating the sale of the team, which Carl Pohlad purchased from Calvin Griffith for $44 million in 1984.
It wouldn't be unusual if the Pohlads took the team off the market if they don't get their asking price or ideal profit number after debt. Both the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels put their teams up for sale only to later decide to keep them. In many ways, the Twins' sale mirrors that of the Nationals, who are owned by the Lerner family and have members of the family who were adamantly against the team changing hands. The Lerner family opted not to sell after being underwhelmed by offers.
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The Twins believed Ishbia's interest was sincere and that he was in line to be their new owner, according to multiple team and league sources. Others with knowledge of the sale talks aren't so sure and questioned if it was the Twins' financial situation or if Ishbia played his interest in Minnesota into a bigger piece of the White Sox. Regardless, Chicago offered Ishbia an increased minority stake in the club, a proposal that resulted in him abandoning his bid to buy the Twins in February.
At the time, people close to the process suggested the sale process would continue, and the Twins regrouped. But they may not be any closer to selling.
(Photo of Joe Pohlad in 2023: Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins / Getty Images)