Stan Kroenke’s KSE to buy Los Angeles Angels in $4bn deal
Stan Kroenke’s Kroenke Sports + Entertainment announced on Tuesday it will buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno. ESPN reported the sale price at $4bn, which exceeds the previous MLB record of $3.9bn set earlier this year.
Moreno purchased the Angels for $183.5m in 2003, one year after the franchise won the World Series under Walt Disney Co. ownership, and became the first Mexican American to own a major sports franchise in the United States. Under Moreno the Angels reached the playoffs five times in his first seven years as owner but have made the postseason only once in the past 16 seasons and have not won a playoff game in that span.
Kroenke Sports + Entertainment is run by Stan Kroenke and already owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, MLS’s Colorado Rapids and Arsenal of the English Premier League. The Denver-based entity also owns a professional lacrosse team in Colorado and Arsenal’s women’s team.
Kroenke developed a 300-acre site in Inglewood, California that includes SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020 and was built for more than $5bn. SoFi Stadium, home to the Rams, is scheduled to host its second Super Bowl at the end of the upcoming NFL season and will be a venue for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
The Angels entered Tuesday with a 53-85 record and are on course for their 11th consecutive losing season. Disgruntled fans have staged protests during games, including groups in the upper deck behind right field who remove their shorts, wave them overhead and chant for Moreno to “sell the team.”
Mike Trout has been the Angels’ marquee player since 2011 and is a 12-time All-Star; he and Shohei Ohtani were teammates for six seasons but the pair never reached the postseason together. Between 2014 and 2023 Trout and Ohtani combined to win five MVP Awards while wearing Angels uniforms; in 2018 Ohtani was American League Rookie of the Year while Trout finished second in MVP voting.
“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a release. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.”
“The Angels organization is pleased to announce this transaction with Kroenke Sports + Entertainment,” Arte Moreno said in Tuesday’s news release. “The Moreno family has been honored to steward the Angels for 23 years and we believe with KSE’s experience and success they are the best next owner for the franchise. The Angels organization looks forward to continuing its commitment to the fans, our employees, the players and our business partners.”
Moreno said in 2022 he would explore the possibility of selling the Angels but abandoned that plan less than one year later. The transaction announced on Tuesday is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 and will require approval from Major League Baseball and its owners.