Frank McCourt agrees to sell Dodgers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Frank McCourt has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers less than a month after being awarded sole ownership of the club in a divorce settlement.
In a joint statement with Major League Baseball, the Dodgers "agreed to a court supervised process to sell the team and its attendant media rights in a manner designed to realize maximum value for the Dodgers and their owner, Frank McCourt."
The statement also said the Blackstone Group LP will manage the sale process.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jamie McCourt relinquished her ownership in the settlement with her ex-husband last month, ending a tumultuous divorce that is reported to be the costliest in California history.
The McCourts previously reached a divorce settlement in June that included a judge's authorization to complete a TV rights deal with Fox Sports, which was later rejected by Major League Baseball.
MLB then filed a motion in bankruptcy court arguing that the Dodgers should be sold to provide a clear path toward settling the team's considerable financial woes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Frank McCourt was seeking to auction the team's TV rights to the highest bidder without league approval, a move MLB argued was motivated by McCourt's unrealistic hope of generating enough proceeds to help meet his own personal financial liabilities.
The McCourts had owned the Dodgers since 2004, but a messy two-year divorce included Frank's claim that he should have sole possession of the team and Jamie's belief that the Dodgers should be a shared property.
A marital property agreement between the two that would have made Frank the sole owner was invalidated by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.