The Braves have been split off from Liberty Media in a reorganization of the company, but chairman Terry McGuirk said it will be “business as usual.”
The Braves’ owners, Liberty Media Corp., held a meeting of stockholders Monday in which stockholders voted to separate the Braves and their real-estate development project, The Battery Atlanta, from the rest of the company. The two will be independent publicly owned companies.
In a 20-minute Q&A with reporters before Tuesday’s Braves-Diamondbacks game at Truist Park, McGuirk, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and president and CEO Derek Schiller answered questions about the separation. The three say that the difference will be seen by shareholders, but generally, not much will change.
“The purpose today is, and why I have my two associates here, is that we absolutely want to tell you that it’s business as usual,” McGuirk said. “There are no changes to how we operate.”
Nothing will change at the trade deadline or in the management of the team, the three said. The Braves will not have any more money to pursue free agents or to make trades at the deadline, nor will they have any less.
McGuirk said the main benefit of the move is stockholder transparency. He believes that it will present the Braves’ economic situation in a clearer way, and he believes that stockholders will appreciate it. Liberty Media had been considering the move for over a year, and the corporation announced intentions to make the move in November.
The average fan will not see any difference in how the Braves operate, with one exception – while it has been possible to own Liberty Media stock, which included the Braves, fans can now purchase stock of the Braves directly. Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc. will be traded publicly on the NASDAQ as early as Wednesday. Schiller said that fans will be able to buy stock for “about the cost of a ticket.” Schiller did not specify whether the corresponding ticket was standing room only or in the Truist Club.
While fans will be able to purchase stock, the Braves will not have an ownership structure like the Green Bay Packers, who are entirely publicly owned. Liberty chairman John Malone owns Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc. shares representing 47.5% of the voting power, and McGuirk said it is not possible for someone to purchase the majority of the existing Braves’ stock to take over the Braves.
“If somebody was interested in buying a baseball team or a team was interested in selling, it has to go through the (MLB) ownership committee first,” McGuirk said. “... You can’t assemble the stock under the rules of baseball and purchase a team. It has to be done through the rules of baseball.”
Some have speculated that this reorganization will make it easier to sell the team. While it will make the Braves’ value clearer, McGuirk said that there has been no conversations or indications that the Braves will be sold anytime soon.
Anthopoulos said that “business as usual” affects the team as well. The Braves still will be able to add payroll at the deadline and that payroll can continue to increase in the offseason if deemed necessary.
“We have money as a baseball operations group to do what we need to do,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s great. No changes on our end.”
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