The Minnesota Twins continue to be on the market and Mats and Justin Ishbia continue to be interested. But while a sale could be finalized by Opening Day, a potential hangup may stem from the Ishbias’ ownership stake in one of the Twins’ biggest rivals.
A report from Sportico’s Kurth Badenhausen and Eben Novy-Williams says that the Ishbias quietly bought a small stake in the Chicago White Sox in 2021. The stake represents a mid-single-digit percentage of the team and the brothers invested as part of a special-purpose vehicle organized by Jerry Reinsdorf’s adult children.
While the Ishbia’s role with the White Sox is passive with no formal leadership positions or governance, MLB ownership bylaws would force the brothers to sell the stake if they’re successful in their pursuit of buying the Twins.
Ishbia’s stake in White Sox could complicate potential Twins sale
On the surface, this seems like a minor deal. If the Ishbias want to buy the Twins, they can sell their White Sox stake, give a good chunk of that money to the Pohlad family and both sides can move on with their lives. But it’s interesting considering Reinsdorf was in “active discussions” to sell the White Sox back in October.
If the Ishbia’s already own part of the White Sox, wouldn’t it just make sense to buy them from Reinsdorf? It makes even more sense when you consider that Justin Ishbia’s parent company, Shore Capital Partners, is based in Chicago, making for an easy transition to buy the South Siders.
But buying the White Sox isn’t as simple as handing Reinsdorf a check. The White Sox are coming off the worst season in MLB history with a record of 41-121 and are trying to get public funding for a new stadium to replace Rate Field. While Minnesota missed the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons, the Twins’ stadium issue is taken care of as the team is looking to extend its lease at Target Field ahead of a potential sale.
The Ishbias also appear more interested in buying the Twins anyway as they have met with prominent Minnesota business owners to form a group to buy the team.
Whatever needs to be done, the Ishbias seem willing to put a winning product on the field. They have spent money on players and facilities for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury while also making fan-friendly moves like lowering concession prices and making their games available for free on television and streaming platforms.
It doesn’t seem like this is an ownership group that would let much get in the way of what they want and if a sale is finalized, they may be willing to trade their minority ownership in the White Sox to become the majority owner of the Twins.