# Guggenheim Baseball Management
**Guggenheim Baseball Management** (GBM) is the private investment partnership that has owned the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball since April 30, 2012, when it closed a then MLB-record purchase of the team, [Dodger Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/dodger-stadium), and surrounding real estate from [Frank McCourt](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-mccourt).[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-sale-to-guggenheim-baseball-management-closed-c30125872) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-xpm-2012-may-01-la-sp-dn-dodgers-sale-mccourt-magic-20120501-story.html) The group is led by controlling owner [Mark Walter](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-walter), chief executive of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, and its members at the time of purchase included Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Peter Guber, Stan Kasten, Bobby Patton, and Todd Boehly.[3](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entity | Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC ("GBM"), a private partnership; the purchase agreement named Guggenheim Baseball Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, as purchaser[3](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932) • [4](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/04/06/dodgers-purchase-agreement-filed-by-guggenheim-baseball-will-use-1-6-billion-of-equity/) |
| Acquisition | Agreement announced March 27, 2012; sale of team, stadium, and surrounding land closed April 30, 2012[3](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932) • [1](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-sale-to-guggenheim-baseball-management-closed-c30125872) |
| Price | $2 billion for the club, plus $150 million for a 50-percent interest in the Chavez Ravine property and stadium parking lots, for a widely reported total of $2.15 billion[3](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-xpm-2012-may-01-la-sp-dn-dodgers-sale-mccourt-magic-20120501-story.html) |
| Controlling owner | Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners; chairman of the Dodgers[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896) |
| Context | The deal value was over 2 1/2 times the previous MLB record for a club sale; McCourt had bought the franchise in 2004 for $430 million[6](https://www.blackstone.com/news/press/guggenheim-baseball-management-acquires-los-angeles-dodgers/) |
| Later results | Under GBM the Dodgers have won 12 of the past 13 NL West titles and three World Series championships in a six-season span; Forbes valued the franchise at $6.8 billion in 2025[7](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/stan-kasten-discusses-mark-walter-dodgers.html) • [8](https://www.forbes.com/teams/los-angeles-dodgers/) |
## Background: the McCourt bankruptcy
Frank McCourt bought the Dodgers from [News Corporation](https://www.edgepedia.org/news-corporation) in 2004 for $430 million, a purchase MLB.com later described as having a net price of $371 million, financed largely with debt.[6](https://www.blackstone.com/news/press/guggenheim-baseball-management-acquires-los-angeles-dodgers/) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896) His ownership ended in bankruptcy. In June 2011, unable to meet player payroll or pay bills after Commissioner Bud Selig declined to approve a $3 billion agreement between FOX and the Dodgers extending their television broadcast rights, McCourt filed for Chapter 11 protection.[1](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-sale-to-guggenheim-baseball-management-closed-c30125872) In September 2011 [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball) petitioned the bankruptcy court to order the team sold, and that November, after settling with his former wife Jamie, McCourt agreed with MLB to a court-overseen auction.[9](https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/los-angeles-brooklyn-dodgers-team-ownership-history/) A week before he agreed to sell, MLB filed a court document accusing McCourt of "looting" $189 million of team revenue for personal purposes.[10](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-29/dodgers-owner-anniversary-kasten-magic-mark-walter-colletti-mattingly-kershaw)
## The 2012 purchase
The agreement announced on March 27, 2012 set the price at $2 billion for the club, with McCourt and certain purchaser affiliates also forming a joint venture to acquire the Chavez Ravine property for an additional $150 million.[3](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932) The filed purchase agreement used $1.6 billion of equity, according to Forbes.[4](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/04/06/dodgers-purchase-agreement-filed-by-guggenheim-baseball-will-use-1-6-billion-of-equity/)
**Court approval and closing.** On April 13, 2012, a Delaware bankruptcy judge confirmed the sale after a contentious day-long hearing in Wilmington, at which MLB counsel raised objections including the structure of the parking-lot joint venture between McCourt and Guggenheim.[11](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/04/16/Franchises/Dodgers/) Lawyers for Guggenheim, McCourt, and MLB then completed the documentation in roughly 17 days, a schedule driven partly by McCourt's April 30 deadline to pay Jamie McCourt $131 million from their divorce settlement.[12](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2012/05/07/Franchises/Dodgers/) The transaction closed as of April 30, 2012, with funding on May 1, and the new owners wired the final payment on the record $2.15 billion price.[13](https://www.foley.com/news/2012/03/foley-represents-guggenheim-baseball-management-in/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-xpm-2012-may-01-la-sp-dn-dodgers-sale-mccourt-magic-20120501-story.html) The sale ended the McCourts' eight-year ownership and made GBM the third owner of the Dodgers since the O'Malley family sold the team in 1998.[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-xpm-2012-may-01-la-sp-dn-dodgers-sale-mccourt-magic-20120501-story.html)
At the May 2, 2012 introduction at Dodger Stadium, Johnson announced that general parking would drop from $15 to $10, and Walter said McCourt could profit only from future development of the jointly held land, not from parking revenue.[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896)
## Ownership group
Mark Walter is the controlling partner and served as the Dodgers' chairman; Johnson, the former Lakers star, became the public face of the group; Stan Kasten, previously president of the [Atlanta Braves](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlanta-braves), Washington Nationals, and [Atlanta Hawks](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlanta-hawks), ran the club as president and CEO.[3](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932) • [5](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896) The other original partners were Mandalay Entertainment chairman [Peter Guber](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-guber), Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly, and Texas energy investor Bobby Patton.[5](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896) The group has since added members: Billie Jean King joined the ownership group in 2018.[14](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/fl_attachment/mlb/x6tvwktkntydkftmdxtl.pdf)
The name invites confusion with [Guggenheim Partners](https://www.edgepedia.org/guggenheim-partners), Walter's global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago and New York. GBM is a separate private partnership that owns the Dodgers; Walter leads both.[15](https://apnews.com/article/3fe44e39efc42674f75b5233cc01b149) Forbes reported that the purchase was funded in part by leveraging insurance funds connected to Walter's companies, and that Walter outbid a partnership of Steve Cohen and [Patrick Soon-Shiong](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-soon-shiong) in the bankruptcy auction.[10](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-29/dodgers-owner-anniversary-kasten-magic-mark-walter-colletti-mattingly-kershaw)
## Results under Guggenheim ownership
**Spending and media.** Within three months of taking over, the group signed [Yasiel Puig](https://www.edgepedia.org/yasiel-puig) for $42 million and extended [Andre Ethier](https://www.edgepedia.org/andre-ethier) for $85 million, and in August 2012 took on roughly $260 million in salary in a trade with the [Boston Red Sox](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-red-sox), adding close to half a billion dollars to payroll in three months.[10](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-29/dodgers-owner-anniversary-kasten-magic-mark-walter-colletti-mattingly-kershaw) After the 2012 season the owners negotiated a record $8.35 billion television deal with what was then Time Warner Cable.[10](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-29/dodgers-owner-anniversary-kasten-magic-mark-walter-colletti-mattingly-kershaw)
**On-field record.** The Dodgers have not missed the playoffs since the 2012 sale, and under GBM they have won 12 of the past 13 National League West titles and three [World Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series) championships in a six-season span, including the 2020 title.[10](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-29/dodgers-owner-anniversary-kasten-magic-mark-walter-colletti-mattingly-kershaw) • [7](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/stan-kasten-discusses-mark-walter-dodgers.html)
**Valuation.** Forbes has ranked the Dodgers No. 2 among baseball franchises every year since 2012, the year GBM took control. In 2025 the magazine estimated franchise revenue at $850 million, leading all of MLB, and valued the team at $6.8 billion, up 25 percent year over year.[8](https://www.forbes.com/teams/los-angeles-dodgers/) • [16](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91284724-OPP-45.pdf) Forbes reported that when GBM bought the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium in 2012, the enterprise value including surrounding real estate was $2.3 billion.[17](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/09/19/los-angeles-dodgers-sale-guggenheim/)
## Later developments
In 2026, Walter's broader financial empire became the subject of a federal probe focused on his insurance businesses, and he sold his controlling stake in the [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-lakers) for $12.5 billion amid the investigation. Dodgers president Stan Kasten stated in August 2026 that the Dodgers were not for sale and that no sale process had been started.[18](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-08-16/whats-at-stake-for-dodgers-owner-mark-walter-as-authorities-probe-his-businesses) • [7](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/stan-kasten-discusses-mark-walter-dodgers.html)
## References
1. [Dodgers sale to Guggenheim Baseball Management closed, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-sale-to-guggenheim-baseball-management-closed-c30125872)
2. [Dodgers sale closes; McCourt era ends, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-xpm-2012-may-01-la-sp-dn-dodgers-sale-mccourt-magic-20120501-story.html)
3. [Dodgers and Frank McCourt announce agreement with Guggenheim Baseball Management, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-and-frank-mccourt-announce-agreement-with-guggenheim-baseball-management/c-27684932)
4. [Dodgers Purchase Agreement Filed By Guggenheim Baseball Will Use $1.6 Billion Of Equity, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/04/06/dodgers-purchase-agreement-filed-by-guggenheim-baseball-will-use-1-6-billion-of-equity/)
5. [Dodgers' new ownership takes the field, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-new-owners-introduced-at-news-conference/c-30211896)
6. [Guggenheim Baseball Management Acquires Los Angeles Dodgers, Blackstone](https://www.blackstone.com/news/press/guggenheim-baseball-management-acquires-los-angeles-dodgers/)
7. [Team president Stan Kasten says Dodgers are 'not being sold', MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/stan-kasten-discusses-mark-walter-dodgers.html)
8. [Los Angeles Dodgers on the Forbes MLB Team Valuations List, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/teams/los-angeles-dodgers/)
9. [Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers team ownership history, Society for American Baseball Research](https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/los-angeles-brooklyn-dodgers-team-ownership-history/)
10. [The sale that saved the Dodgers, launched a decade of dominance, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-04-29/dodgers-owner-anniversary-kasten-magic-mark-walter-colletti-mattingly-kershaw)
11. [Sale Of Dodgers To Johnson-Guggenheim Group Approved After Contentious Hearing, Sports Business Journal](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/04/16/Franchises/Dodgers/)
12. [Lawyers' full-court press helps close L.A. sale, Sports Business Journal](https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2012/05/07/Franchises/Dodgers/)
13. [Foley Represents Guggenheim Baseball Management in Historic Acquisition of Los Angeles Dodgers, Foley & Lardner](https://www.foley.com/news/2012/03/foley-represents-guggenheim-baseball-management-in/)
14. [2019 Dodger Executives, MLB.com](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/fl_attachment/mlb/x6tvwktkntydkftmdxtl.pdf)
15. [Ohtani can opt out of Dodgers deal if execs Walter, Friedman lose roles with team, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/3fe44e39efc42674f75b5233cc01b149)
16. [USPTO TTAB filing citing Forbes valuation](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91284724-OPP-45.pdf)
17. [Los Angeles Dodgers Valued At $3.2 Billion In Minority Interest Sale, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/09/19/los-angeles-dodgers-sale-guggenheim/)
18. [What's at stake for Dodgers' owner Mark Walter as authorities probe his businesses, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-08-16/whats-at-stake-for-dodgers-owner-mark-walter-as-authorities-probe-his-businesses)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB business, labor, and governance*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license