Jeb Bush 'Confident' He And Jeter Will Buy Marlins, Cash Reportedly In Place
First, it was Derek Jeter vs. Jeb Bush and a slew of other hopefuls for the right to buy the Miami Marlins from current owner Jeffrey Loria for a reported $1.3 billion.
Then, reports emerged that Jeter and Bush had teamed up and actually won the bid to buy the team, but that was soon debunked and the Jeter-Bush tandem even having the funds necessary to purchase the team came into question.
Now, it appears once again that Jeter and Bush may have the inside track when it comes to winning the bid to buy the team as Jeb Bush has told the New York Post that he's "confident" him and Jeter will buy the Marlins.
Bush, who is part of a bidding group that includes Yankees great Derek Jeter, hopes to become the exclusive bidder for the MLB team when the auction sale is completed, he told The Post at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
Bush said he was "confident" of becoming the exclusive bidder for the Miami Marlins when speaking to The Post Monday afternoon on the seventh floor of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Bush bidding team is "hoping to learn sooner rather than later" if they become the winning bidder, he said.
Reports indicate that the Bush-Jeter tandem is in competition with fellow former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his son, Tagg Romney, the latter of whom is reportedly leading the effort to buy the Marlins.
Rumors have long existed regarding Loria potentially selling the team that he has owned since 2002.
He bought the team in 2002 for $158.5 million from John W. Henry. The franchise is now valued at $940 million, according to Forbes even though the team has struggled throughout the years to get fans into the stadium.