The ownership of the Iowa Cubs has changed for the second time in eight months.
The Cubs and nine other minor league baseball teams have been sold to an investor.
The Major League Baseball Players Association warned that it would decertify William Morris Endeavor if the company continued to own clubs.
The acquisition of the Iowa Cubs and nine other teams created a scenario in which a single company employed sports agents and owned clubs tasked with developing players for Major League Baseball.
Alex Rodriguez, a perennial all-star infielder and designated hitter, is one of William Morris's clients.
The top MiLB prospects were at the field of dreams.
Mark Shapiro said in a statement Tuesday that their relationship with MLB and the MLBPA took priority given the importance of their agency business and continued investment in their baseball representation practice.
The teams were sold to Silver Lake, a private equity firm that has a stake in Endeavor.
The sale shouldn't change the business model of the company, according to the statement.
The Field of Dreams stadium will get $12.5 million from the governor.
After several months of invaluable support and guidance from Endeavor in establishing this organization, and now moving into Silver Lake's proven portfolio, the entireDBH organization is enthusiastically focused on this next phase of aggressively growing the business
Major League Baseball wanted the club to make improvements to its stadium in Des Moines.
The company's "expertise across sponsorship sales, event operations, licensing, marketing and content creation" was cited by Shapiro as one of the reasons for the company's ability to "turbo charge" teams. Analysts wondered how the company's executives could increase profits in a slow-growth business with flat attendance since 2008.
The company started as a talent agency under Ari Emanuel, but has since branched out into other lines of business. The company has a marketing arm.
The Iowa Cubs are an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and had been owned by a group led by a former Des Moines Register editor.
The company did not respond to a call asking about the sale. At the time of the transaction, he cited his age and the cost of MLB required upgrades as reasons for his decision. He was confident that there would be enough money to cover the expense.
The Iowa Cubs employees were given $600,000 from the sale. This is how it ended.
The club was under pressure from Major League Baseball to improve its stadium, Principal Park.
Silver Lake is based in California. Silver Lake has investments in companies like Dell and Sofi Technologies.
The Iowa Cubs are one of the teams Silver Lake acquired.
- Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals)
- Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees)
- Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees)
- San Jose Giants (Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants)
- Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
- Mississippi Braves (Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
- Rome Braves (High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
- Augusta GreenJackets (Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
- Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers).
Tyler Jett is a reporter for the Register. He can be reached by email at tjett@registermedia.com or on the social media platform of his choice.
