Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — Should current Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria be nominated by President Donald Trump as the U.S. ambassador to France, as has been reported, real estate mogul Charles Kushner and his family will no longer be interested in buying the team.
In a statement Wednesday, Kushner’s son-in-law Joseph Meyer said, “Our family has been friends with Jeff Loria for over 30 years, been in business together, and even owned a AAA baseball team together. Although the Kushners have made substantial progress in discussions for us to purchase the Marlins, recent reports suggest that Mr. Loria will soon be nominated by the President to be Ambassador to France.”
“If that is true, we do not want this unrelated transaction to complicate that process and will not pursue it,” Meyer added. “The Kushners remain interested in purchasing a team and would love to buy the Marlins at another time.”
Kushner’s son Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and serves as the president’s senior adviser.
Last week, Forbes reported that a “handshake agreement” was in place for the team. The offer was said to be for $1.6 billion.
ESPN later reported that Charles Kushner was part of a potential purchase group. It was not known, however, whether that was the same group linked to the offer reported by Forbes.
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