The Guggenheim Partners investment group, whose members include Dodgers chairman Mark Walter and co-owner Todd Boehly, has joined with a larger group of investors to bid on AEG, according to Reuters.
The report states that Los Angeles-based billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong “intends to put together a broad group of local investors in a similar fashion to the one Guggenheim assembled for the $2 billion purchase of the Dodgers in May.”
The Lakers, Kings, Galaxy, Staples Center, Home Depot Center, the proposed Farmers Field football stadium and Citizens Business Bank Arena are all among AEG’s assets. If some or all of the Guggenheim group gets involved, it would leave the Clippers, Ducks, Angels and Chivas USA as the only major professional sports franchises in the region not under Guggenheim control.
The $2 billion price tag Guggenheim paid for the Dodgers was a benchmark for pro sports. For many, it might seem implausible that the same group would spend even more than that on another sports body less than a year later.
But Guggenheim has built a global network of assets in excess of $160 billion, according to Reuters. The money’s there. And Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said he’s often been encouraged to “think big” and think about “what’s next” in his short time working with Guggenheim.
Maybe now, Guggenheim is thinking bigger than the Dodgers.