Brewers’s Attanasio Won’t Comment on Dodgers, “Surprised” if PE Owns Major Baseball Team

Baseball continued to be a topic of discussion at the Buyouts conference today.

Mark Attanasio, a Crescent Capital managing partner, said he’d be surprised if a PE firm ended up owning a Major League Baseball team. In 2005, Attanasio led an investor group to buy the Milwaukee Brewers for $223 million. He is principal owner of the team.

“Baseball is better financed with the equity of an individual owner,” he said.

Baseball, he said, looks for stable ownership. “They want people who can own teams for a long time,” Attanasio said. “PE firms look for exits.”

Attanasio was a featured speaker today on “The Great Debates” panel that closed the Buyouts NY conference. He has repeatedly denied that he is interested in buying the Dodgers. When asked by peHUB whether he was interested in the baseball team, Attanasio declined comment.

Attanasio told peHUB Wednesday that he didn’t buy the Brewers to make money. “This is my passion,” he said. “I did it because I love baseball.”

“My wife says this is the best thing I ever did,” he added.