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Lerner group finalizes purchase of Nationals

NEW YORK - The Washington Nationals on Monday
announced the official transfer of ownership from Major League
Baseball to a group headed by local real estate magnate Ted
Lerner.

The sale was officially approved by the baseball owners on May
18.

The Lerner group won the bidding war over groups headed by
Washington businessmen Fred Malek and Jeffrey Zients and
Indianapolis radio tycoon Jeff Smulyan, the former owner of the
Seattle Mariners.

"It has long been my dream to bring the national pastime back to
my hometown, the nation's capital," Lerner said. "Now that
it's been realized, I plan on doing everything I can to make
sure that this franchise becomes an international jewel for MLB,
D.C. and the nation."

The Nationals were purchased by the Lerner group for $450
million.

"I am extremely pleased to welcome the Lerner family and their
partners into Major League Baseball," commissioner Bud Selig
said. "As I've come to know Ted and his family better over the
past several weeks, I'm more certain than ever that they will
provide the kind of committed and stable ownership that will
help this franchise flourish in the D.C. area for years and
years to come."

Major League Baseball emphasized the need for strong local and
diverse ownership, a requirement that was met by the Lerner
Group. Lerner and his son Mark were born and raised in the
Washington, D.C. area while his sons-in-law, Edward L. Cohen and
Robert K. Tanenbaum, are longtime residents.

The Lerner group includes former Atlanta Braves executive Stan
Kasten.

Jim Bowden will remain as general manager and he named Mike
Rizzo as assistant general manager and vice president of
baseball operations on Monday.

"Under new ownership and the leadership of Stan Kasten, I have
been given the approval and resources to hire the best and
brightest the baseball industry has to offer, and today's hiring
of Mike exemplifies this," Bowden said.

Rizzo, 45, joins the Nationals after spending the previous seven
seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, primarily as director of
scouting.

MLB's other 29 clubs bought the-then Montreal Expos from Jeffrey
Loria for $120 million in 2002 as part of a complicated
transaction in which Loria bought the Florida Marlins and John
Henry purchased the Boston Red Sox.

MLB moved the Expos to Washington before the 2005 season and
started to accept bids for the National League franchise in
June 2005.

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