ASHBURN — The investment bank that Dan Snyder hired to explore a sale of the Washington Commanders has reportedly begun taking the next steps in the process by sending prospective buyers a prospectus for the franchise.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Bank of America Securities, the investment bank hired by Snyder, plans to send the materials to any qualified buyers who agree to confidentiality terms.
The incremental step helps further along the process of a potential sale, which the Commanders first announced was possible in early November. The team said then that the Snyders had hired a bank to explore “potential transactions” of the franchise.
The Post, citing four anonymous sources, reported that a full sale of the franchise is the “most likely” outcome. A team spokesperson said the Snyders were exploring “all options” last month when asked if the owners were entertaining a partial or full sale of the team.
The news comes amid the NFL winter meetings in Irving, Texas and almost a week after the House Oversight and Reform Committee issued a 79-page final report regarding Snyder and the Commanders’ workplace misconduct scandal. The congressional panel found that the embattled billionaire “permitted and participated in” the misconduct and impeded multiple investigations regarding the controversies.
Dan Snyder is not at the league meetings, though wife Tanya and team president Jason Wright are in attendance.
According to the Post, those familiar with the NFL sale process believe Snyder will have a hard time finding a prospective minority investor that’s willing to spend $1 or $2 billion unless the agreement gives them the guarantee to buy out Snyder at a later date. That would be similar to what happened with the Baltimore Ravens when then-owner Art Modell sold 49% of the franchise to Steve Bisciotti in 2000 for $275 million — with an option that allowed Bisciotti to buy the rest of the team in four years for an additional $325 million.
NFL owners would have to approve any such deal, which would require a three-fourths approval.
Snyder, though, has reportedly found no shortage of suitors. Multiple reports indicate that at least six groups have expressed interest in buying the team — with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and mortgage executive Mat Ishbia among those rumored to be interested.
Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported in November that the Commanders — valued by Forbes at $5.6 billion — are expected to fetch as much as $7 billion and there’s “hope” the deal could be completed by March.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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