White Sox's Jerry Reinsdorf reaches deal for potential sale to Justin Ishbia

New York Times

a day ago

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and minority investor Justin Ishbia have established a framework to transfer a future controlling interest in the team, according to a news release issued Thursday.
In February, The Athletic reported that Ishbia dropped his pursuit of the Minnesota Twins and was increasing his minority stake in the White Sox, intending to eventually buy out Reinsdorf's controlling stake in the franchise. It was during Ishbia's pursuit of the Twins that the Reinsdorfs came to him and discussed increasing his share of the White Sox, according to a person briefed on the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly.
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At the time of The Athletic's report, the White Sox denied there was a path to control.
Now, the plan has been agreed to.
Ishbia 'will make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations,' according to the club.
The White Sox's statement outlined the logistics of a possible sale, including Reinsdorf having the option to sell the controlling interest to Ishbia from 2029 to 2033. Ishbia will have the option to acquire the controlling interest after the 2034 season.
'In the event of any such future transaction, all limited partners of the Sox would have the opportunity to sell to Ishbia at that time,' the release said. 'In addition to Justin Ishbia, his brother Mat Ishbia, and father Jeff Ishbia will also be significant investors. There is no assurance that any such future transaction will occur, and in no event will such a transaction take place before 2029.'
Mat Ishbia is the controlling owner of the NBA Phoenix Suns and WNBA Phoenix Mercury, and Justin is an alternate governor for the team. Justin is an investor with the MLS' Nashville SC.
This structure is comparable to the 2022 deal David Blitzer struck with Cleveland Guardians owner Paul Dolan, which gave him a six-year window to buy a controlling interest in the team, which The Athletic also reported in February.
Ishbia's deal, which closed soon after The Athletic's story ran, bought out minority shareholders of the White Sox, some of whom had been with Reinsdorf since he led a group to buy the team for $19 million in 1981. The valuation for their shares was around $1.8 billion, according to sources briefed on the deal. Some shareholders stuck around for a potentially bigger payday.
Statement from the Chicago White Sox:
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 5, 2025
Earlier this spring, Matt Spiegel, a radio host at Chicago's 670 The Score, reported that Ishbia's deal gave him 35 percent of the team, but the way the organization is structured, Reinsdorf was the controlling partner, even without holding a majority stake.
The team's statement noted Reinsdorf will remain the 'sole day-to-day decision maker for the club,' which set a modern record for losses last season with 121 and had the worst record in the American League at 19-43 before Thursday's day game with the Detroit Tigers.
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'Having the incredible opportunity to own the Chicago White Sox and be part of Major League Baseball for nearly 50 years has been a life-changing experience,' Reinsdorf said in a statement. 'I have always expressed my intent to operate the White Sox as long as I am able and remain committed to returning this franchise to the level of on-field success we all expect and desire.'
In recent years, Reinsdorf has been angling for public money to build a new stadium in Chicago, though the state-funded Rate Field still hasn't been paid off. A possible deal for a plot of land at The 78 development in the South Loop could still be in play, though the MLS Chicago Fire announced plans to build their new stadium there earlier in the week.
(Photo of Jerry Reinsdorf: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)