In an international twist in the Dodgers' ownership saga, Frank McCourt has been offered $1.2 billion to sell the team to a group indirectly financed by the government of China.
The bid was presented on behalf of the Burke group by Signal Capital Management of New York. The firm has offices in Beijing, according to its website. Shane Rodgers, its chairman and chief executive officer, said in an email that the firm would not comment "on any potential or proposed transactions."
The letter did not specify who would finance the Burke bid, other than to say the money would come from "certain state-owned investment institutions of the People's Republic of China" and unidentified American investors. Foreign investment is not necessarily an obstacle to MLB ownership; the Seattle Mariners' ownership group includes a significant Japanese presence.