Los Angeles | Thursday, August 9th, 2012
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson can be quite convincing when he wants to be.
Though Mandalay Entertainment Group CEO Peter Guber didn’t want buy the Dodgers, a call from the former NBA star – who happens to be his friend and business partner – convinced him otherwise.
Not only had the two worked together in the past when Guber, a former chief at Sony, partnered with Johnson to launch his movie theatre chain, but the two also co-own a minor league baseball team in Dayton, Ohio that has sold out 897 consecutive games, a record for professional sports.
Recalls Guber: “Magic called and he said, ‘Come on, we’ve been so lucky together, we’ve been so good together, let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it.’ ”
He added: “I said, ‘F— it, OK,’ and my wife thought it was absolutely insane. She said, ‘Are you crazy?’ ”
Still, he opted to join the team that would make a $2.15 billion winning offer which more than doubled the previous record price for a North American sports franchise.
In addition to Johnson and Guber, the New York and Chicago-based Guggenheim Partners has an ownership interest in the Dodgers, as does Pluribus Capital Management of Prometheus Global Media.
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
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