Report: Lerners to explore selling Nats, among other options originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Lerner family, owners of the Washington Nationals since 2006, has hired the investment bank Allen & Company to identify parties interested in either investing in or buying the MLB franchise, according to The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga.
“This is an exploratory process, so there is no set timetable or expectation of a specific outcome,” principal owner Mark Lerner said in the statement to the Post. “The organization is as committed as ever to their employees, players, fans, sponsors and partners and to putting a competitive product on the field.”
Club officials had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publishing.
Lerner’s father Ted originally purchased the team from Major League Baseball for $450 million. While the club’s value has since increased more than four times over — Forbes assessed its value as $2 billion in March — the coronavirus pandemic disrupted revenue streams for both the baseball team and the commercial real estate business that the family fortune comes from.
Under the Lerner family, the Nationals have reached the playoffs five times, culminating with a World Series title in 2019. Washington routinely sported one of baseball’s largest payrolls during the height of its contention window between 2012 and 2019. The family has also signed off on six players’ contracts of at least $100 million: Jayson Werth, Ryan…