The San Diego Padres have been up for sale for months now, and Jose E. Feliciano has purchased the team.
The San Diego Padres have been sold for a record price of $3.9 billion to Jose E. Feliciano, the owner of an English Premier League team (Chelsea), with the transaction being reported by both ESPN and the Athletic. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the potential Padres sale agreement.
The price blows away the most recent cost of an MLB franchise, as Steve Cohen paid $2.42 billion when he bought the New York Mets back in 2020. The deal won’t become official until June, which is when it will be voted on by MLB owners, and a 75 percent vote will be required.
The transaction will also include the Padres’ $300 million debt along with other terms, and the move is expected to reverberate throughout the sport as the pivotal labor negotiations preceding the 2027 season draw closer.
Feliciano, who was born in Puerto Rico, is the co-founder and manager of Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm based on Santa Monica, Calif. In 2022, Clearlake combined with Todd Boehly, the part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to lead a consortium that purchased Chelsea, which is one of the English Premier League’s most prominent clubs, in a transaction that was worth $5.24 billion. Forbes estimates Feliciano’s net worth at $3.9 billion, so it will be interesting to see if that affects the sale.
His wife, Kwanza Jones, was also mentioned prominently in reports. She attended Princeton University with Feliciano, and she’s the founder and CEO of Supercharged, which is a media and personal development company. Jones and Feliciano have also founded an investment and philanthropic organization that has committed $250 million to various efforts. Jones is an LA native who was also listed as a singer and artist in the ESPN report.
The couple outbid three other groups, with one led by Dan Friedkin, who owns the EPL Everton club. The other two were Tom Gores, owner of the Detroit Pistons, and Joe Lacob, owner of the Golden State Warriors. According to league sources mentioned in the Athletic report, at least one of the other bids came in around $3.5 billion.
The only comment that appeared in either report was one from Feliciano, who was asked about Chelsea’s status after the club booked the highest pre-tax deficit in English football history.
“If you own a sports club, you have to understand that you’re a steward of something much broader, and the impact on the community is much broader than just a business or just a sport,” Feliciano said.
The move raises multiple question about the Padres payroll issues and their ability to make baseball moves this season, but presumably those will be answered in the coming days and weeks.