Fansided

Derek Jeter reportedly interested in buying Miami Marlins

By Kyle Barnhart

Sep 26, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; New York Yankees former player Derek Jeter on the sideline prior to the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Brigham Young Cougars at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; New York Yankees former player Derek Jeter on the sideline prior to the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Brigham Young Cougars at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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FOX Business is reporting that three potential bidders have interest in purchasing the Miami Marlins, including one group led by retired Yankees superstar Derek Jeter. 

Jeter has teamed up with Wall Street executive Gregory Fleming to secure potential financing for the purchase, which is likely to cost well more than the $675 million that Forbes valued the franchise at in March 2016.

It appears Jeter’s group will have some competition in bidding for the team, as well. Two other groups have formed to make an offer to current Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, including a Citibank-funded group led by former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who owns a home in Coral Gables, not far from the Little Havana neighborhood where Marlins Park is located. 

A third group, backed by Goldman Sachs, is also potentially in the mix to make a bid on the franchise. Marlins president David Samson is currently leading talks with the interested parties.

Loria has been a polarizing figure in South Florida since becoming the owner of the Marlins in 2003 and was most recently connected to a Washington Post report that he had a “handshake deal” in place to sell the team to the family of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and current adviser to President Donald Trump. 

It appears the Kushner family backed out of the deal to dissolve any potential conflict of interest, after it was reported that Loria was being considered for an appointment to be the United States ambassador to France.

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Jeter, who has made his home in Tampa, Florida since his 2014 retirement from professional baseball, will be eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 and is widely expected to be elected in his first year on the ballot.

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