Park West’s connection to the Atlanta Braves
Currently, Park West owns more shares in each series of Atlanta Braves tracking stock than anyone else, and they’ve bought close to two million shares (1,888,614 by my count) since April 1st. They currently own 3,828,018 shares between the two groups.
It’s also worth mentioning that sometime this year, Park West Asset Management sold out on the ~$5.5 million worth of Liberty Interactive (affiliated with Liberty Media) stock they previously owned.
When I reached out to Park West, they declined to comment on the situation, which isn’t surprising at all.
Aside from Park West’s activity with Braves’ tracking stock, they own 2.2 million shares (approx. $73 million) in Eldorado Resorts, a hotel/casino chain, as well as 1.3 million shares (approx. $60 million) in Monarch Casino & Resorts — there’s currently a push to legalize casino gambling in Georgia via Senate Bill 79.
Park West definitely enjoys their fair share of real estate investment, and their biggest investment of all may come via a purchase of the Atlanta Braves.
Recap
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While this is all speculation, one could argue that the connections made between the nature of Liberty Media’s ownership of the Braves, the terms agreed to between Liberty Media and Major League Baseball, and a few stock market hunches do, in fact, point towards a potential sale.
Ownership of the Braves by an investment group like Park West may not be ideal for fans, who would love an owner as involved as Ted Turner was, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.
Being a Braves fan hasn’t been easy the last few years. Between a rebuild and subsequently poor on-field performance by the team to a scandal and what appears to be a disinterested owner, fans are ready for a change.
Next: Is Mike Moustakas headed to New York?
Lots of fans would be thrilled with a new owner, but would you be happy with yet another corporation purchasing the Atlanta Braves for reasons that aren’t 100% to have the best MLB team in the league? Of course, this doesn’t mean that’s exactly how things would go, but I wonder if the Braves would be in the same situation, just with a different name on the door.