DES MOINES, Iowa — Less than a year after being acquired by a California-based company, the Iowa Cubs will soon be under new ownership once again.
Endeavor Group Holdings announced Tuesday that the company had sold its professional development league business, Diamond Baseball Holdings, for $280 million to its major investor, Silver Lake Partners.
The sale of 10 minor league teams, including the Iowa Cubs, will be closed in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Endeavor's latest company filing.
The following minor league teams will be affected:
- Hudson Valley Renegades
- Iowa Cubs
- Memphis Redbirds
- San Jose Giants
- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- Augusta GreenJackets
- Gwinnett Stripers
- Mississippi Braves
- Rome Braves
- Oklahoma City Dodgers
The sale comes after the Major League Baseball Players Association warned that the union would decertify the company's talent agency group, according to January reports from the Athletic.
Endeavor President Mark Shapiro said in a release:
"Ultimately our relationship with MLB and the MLBPA took priority given the importance of our overall agency business and our continued investment in our baseball representation practice within WME Sports. Silver Lake will be an excellent partner to these Clubs going forward given their deep understanding of the business and their incredible track record of investment in sports IP."
Prior to the Endeavor purchase in December 2021, the I-Cubs were owned by Michael Gartner for over two decades.
Silver Lake will be the fifth owner of the team since it returned to Triple-A in 1969.