The Twins ushered in a new era of ownership on Wednesday, revealing the identities of those who will join the Pohlad family in team ownership after a 14-month process that initially began with an exploration of a team sale.
A group of what the team calls “principal investors” includes Glick Family Investments, a New-York based family, Värde Partners co-founder and co-executive chair George G. Hicks, and other notable Minnesota business leaders. Wild owner Craig Leipold is joining as a limited partner after purchasing a smaller stake in the team.
“I don’t think we could have dreamed up a better group of people to join our family in the ownership of the Twins,” Tom Pohlad said. “They are just high-quality people.”
Tom Pohlad, the grandson of Carl Pohlad, who bought the franchise in 1984, has been running the sale on behalf of the family since last fall. As such, he has built relationships with all of the involved parties and on Wednesday, the Twins announced he would take over for his brother, Joe, as the team’s executive chair.
Pending MLB approval, Tom Pohlad also is expected to take over as the team’s Control Person in dealings with the league, a role his uncle Jim Pohlad currently holds. The new investors will sit on an advisory board alongside members of the Pohlad family, which remains in control of the team.
“I view that board as an opportunity, as a place to help push us as a family on how we get to where we want to go,” Tom Pohlad said. “I think it’ll be a healthy sense of accountability for us as owners, but I think they will be really good strategic thought partners for us. … They are advisers, but I think it’s in the best interest of the organization to lean on their creative thinking and look at this through a different lens.”
So, who are the new owners?
Pohlad described the Glick family as “smart investors” who are collaborative and patient. Glick Family Investments is run by Simon Glick, the son of Louis Glick, who built the family’s fortune in the diamond-trading industry.
“They’re long-term oriented,” Tom Pohlad said, noting that the New Yorkers have swapped their Yankees gear for Twins gear. “They understand that the real opportunity in this organization comes with winning more baseball games. … They’re not looking at it only from a financial lens.”
Hicks, a former Cargill Financial executive who began global investment firm Värde Partners, is a Minnesota native and self-described “lifelong Twins fan” who graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College before earning his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
“Like many in the state, some of my favorite memories are of times spent watching and cheering for the Twins,” he said in a statement. “The leaders I represent share these values and recognize the importance of Twins baseball to our communities. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and one we view as a true privilege and responsibility.”
As for Leipold, Tom Pohlad said the two got to know each other throughout the sale process as he was trying to connect with other sports owners in the market. Leipold bought the Nashville Predators in 1997 before selling and buying the Wild in 2008.
While Pohlad declined to get into what percentage of the team each partner bought, he said this deal will help the Twins achieve their “primary objective,” which he described as putting the organization onto better financial footing. In recent years, the Twins have accrued a considerable amount of debt — around $500 million — and have slashed payroll as a result.
“With these proceeds, we’re able to pay off a significant amount of debt and that will allow us to reinvest in this team when the time is right,” Tom Pohlad said.
Pohlad said he thought the team, which lost 92 games last season, was “within reach” of winning the American League Central this year, and Twins president Derek Falvey said this month he expects to make additions this offseason to build around a core of proven veterans such as Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton. But Pohlad added that he doesn’t think now is the right time to “put a significant investment into the team of 50 or 60 million dollars.”
“But I don’t think we’re far off from that,” he added. “I think the hard work in front of us is getting people to believe and fans to buy in, to believe that we are committed to a championship-caliber investment and team. I would tell you that Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
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