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Mas joins pursuit of Marlins; Bush joins Romney group competing with Jeter

 
Published June 24, 2017

On the day that Miami businessman Jorge Mas emerged as a third suitor to buy the Marlins, it was learned that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and businessman Wayne Rothbaum have joined forces with Tagg Romney in Romney's ongoing attempts to purchase the team.

That twist in the Marlins' sales talks means that Bush, Romney and Rothbaum are competing directly against former Yankees star Derek Jeter, who was Bush's former partner in a bid to buy the Marlins. Jeter is now trying to buy the team without Bush.

Bush left Jeter's group last month after Jeter made clear that he wanted to control the team's business and baseball operations. But Jeter has been scrambling to come up with the money to meet Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria's $1.3 billion asking price.

Rothbaum, Bush and Romney have submitted a $1.1 billion bid, according to a Bloomberg Business report, and hope to close on the deal before the July 31 trade deadline.

Mas is the chairman of the board and co-founder of MasTec, which according to its website, is "a part of some of the largest and most complex infrastructure construction across the country."

Jeter and his banker/business partner Greg Fleming met with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and Marlins president David Samson in New York on Monday, and Jeter is believed to be well short of the asking price.

Jeter reportedly would contribute $25 million of his own money toward a deal but has been seeking investors to cover the rest.

MLB allows no more than 40 percent of a purchase to be financed by debt and also is adamant that any new owner must have sufficient resources to operate the team after buying it.

The Marlins are expected to lose more than $60 million this year, and Loria — who has borrowed considerable capital to fund losses — is eager to sell the team.

The Marlins' low revenues are one reason why completing a sale has been so difficult.

The Marlins receive only about $20 million annually from their local TV deal, the lowest in baseball. They're also 28th among 30 teams in attendance, averaging 20,606 tickets paid per game. And their $115 million payroll is their largest in franchise history.