Dodgers chairman confirms interest in pursuing AEG bid

The new owners of the Dodgers could add the Kings, Lakers, Galaxy and an NFL team to their stable.

Mark Walter, chairman of the Dodgers and chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, said Tuesday that his company is exploring whether to bid on AEG.

In May, Guggenheim bought the Dodgers for $2.15 billion, a world record price for a sports franchise. Officials at AEG — the Anschutz Co. entity that includes sports teams, Staples Center and the Home Depot Center — have indicated they expect the company to sell for $5 billion to $7 billion.

Walter said the possible “synergy” in marketing and sponsorship among the Los Angeles teams could make AEG an attractive investment. However, because prospective bidders have yet to receive confidential financial information from AEG, Walter said he could not say for sure that a bid would make sense for Guggenheim.

“We don’t know that it does yet,” he said. “We’re looking at AEG. We’re looking at a lot of companies. We certainly don’t buy them all. Even if we thought it was a great company, you’ve got to look at it to know that.”

Walter said it is “not true” that Guggenheim has partnered with anyone on a bid. Reuters reported last week that Guggenheim had “joined forces” with Patrick Soon-Shiong, ranked by Forbes as the richest man in Los Angeles, with a net worth estimated at $7.6 billion.

Soon-Shiong is interested in bidding on AEG but has not committed to any partners, according to a person familiar with the sale process. Guggenheim controls more than $160 billion in assets, according to its website.

Soon-Shiong was in attendance when the Los Angeles City Council granted final approval to AEG’s proposed Farmers Field site. The NFL forbids corporate ownership, so in theory Soon-Shiong could be the controlling owner of a Los Angeles NFL franchise and team with a deeper-pocketed corporate entity to buy AEG.

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