Apollo set to take major stake in Yankees, making team most valuable in baseball

The Yankees are nearing a deal that would eventually hand a whopping 16% stake in the venerable franchise to private equity giant Apollo Capital Management.The Steinbrenner family would relinquish a “de minimis” slice of its controlling equity, finalizing a transaction that will give the famed franchise a new, cash-rich partner, the Post has learned.The partnership structure makes Apollo the Yankee’s biggest equity owner after the Steinbrenner family, which will still own a bit more than 60% of the team.

Apollo’s $2.6 billion cash injection into Yankees involves both a debt and equity investment, and values the team at significantly more than $12 billion.Once the deal closes, possibly as early as this week, the Yankees will rank among the world’s most valuable sports organizations.According to projections by limited partners involved, the Yankees will likely emerge as the most valuable baseball franchise, surpassing the $12 billion valuation of the Los Angeles Dodgers.   The deal has been agreed to in principle by all the parties, but given the complex nature of the purchase, could be delayed for somewhat longer, these people say.

Details of the official terms of the Yankees new ownership structure have yet to be reported.It would end weeks of speculation into the details of the transaction, the outlines of which were disclosed last month with the Yankees’ announcement of a $2.6 billion investment from Apollo.The deal underscores the importance of Apollo to the future of the Yankees — including providing capital to buy players, pay down expensive debt, and provide a cash cushion in case of a baseball strike.

Baseball, like most professional sports, has been increasingly dominated by cash-rich Wall Street types either owning teams outright or through minority investments. Al Tylis, who runs Apollo’s sports-fund, will join the Yankee Global Enterprises’ 13-member board. The Steinbrenner family will retain controlling interest in the Yanke...