AP Photo/Dennis Van Tine
According to Fox Business, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is reportedly the frontrunner to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
In November, Commanders’ owner Dan Snyder announced he would explore the option to sell the organization. It was reported shortly after that Bezos and rapper Jay-Z were interested in buying the team together.
On Friday afternoon, Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business reported that Bezos is the top candidate to meet Snyder’s $6 billion asking price.
Gasparino wrote:
Bezos is said to be interested in buying the team, according to people familiar with his thinking, and has hired investment bankers to explore a possible bid. NFL officials are said to want him as an owner, these people say, because he may be best able to meet Snyder’s price demands and league rules where a team owner must hold 30 percent in equity as part of any buyout.
Bezos is one of the world’s richest men, worth $120 billion, much of it liquid and a chunk of it in Amazon stock.
Gasparino added that co-founder of Apollo Global, a private equity firm, Josh Harris, could potentially throw his hat in the ring to try and purchase the Commanders. Harris owns Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment with David Blitzer, and the organization owns the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers.
With Bezos possibly buying the Washington D.C.-based football organization, the billionaire could sell the Washington Post to focus on the Commanders.
Gasparino added:
Bezos also owns the Washington Post newspaper, but is said to be growing wary of the business that is facing losses amid a slump in digital ads as the economy slows. Some NFL sources say Bezos is looking to sell the Post to devote his time to running the Commanders.
One prospective buyer, they say, could be Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City Mayor, philanthropist and billionaire owner of Bloomberg LP, a media and financial information powerhouse.
Snyder paid $800 million for the Commanders in 1999.
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