The Kushner family, relatives by marriage to President Trump, is in talks to buy the Miami Marlins from art dealer Jeffrey Loria, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.

The sources asked for anonymity because the talks are private.

Wayne Katz, the Proskauer Rose lawyer representing the team, declined to comment to Bloomberg. A spokesperson for Kushner Cos. also declined to comment.

Kushner Cos., which was founded by Charles Kushner in 1985, focuses on Manhattan real estate. His son, Jared, is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and is a senior adviser to the president.

Charles Kushner has a criminal record – in 2005 he was convicted of witness tampering, illegal campaign contributions and tax evasion – which would probably keep him from being approved as a principal owner of a Major League Baseball team. Jared’s position in the White House would likely keep him from buying the team as well.

Charles’ other son, Joshua, runs a private equity firm.

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The sources did not say how the deal would be structured or which member of the Kushner family if any would be named as the owner of the team, if an agreement is reached.

Forbes, citing two sources that it didn’t identify, reported earlier Thursday that Loria has a “handshake agreement” to sell the club for $1.6 billion. The magazine didn’t identify the buyer, saying only that it was with a real estate developer based in New York City.

Forbes estimated the team’s value at $675 million in its latest MLB franchise rankings. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the final offer could be much less than $1.6 billion after a prospective buyer does due diligence.

Loria, 76, bought the Marlins for $158.5 million in 2002 from John Henry, now part of the Boston Red Sox ownership group that has celebrated three World Series titles. The Marlins won the World Series in 2003 but haven’t been to the postseason since, and they haven’t finished above .500 since 2009.

They’ve also finished last in the National League in attendance in 11 of the past 12 years despite moving into a new ballpark in 2012. The small crowds have been blamed in part on antipathy for Loria stemming from the team’s perennially small payrolls and financing for the new ballpark widely viewed as unfair to taxpayers. Public money covered more than three-fourths of the project’s $634 million cost.

Loria, a New York art dealer, has kept a low profile the past couple of seasons. But he increased payroll by one-third this season to about $100 million, raising speculation he wanted a competitive team to make it more appealing to potential buyers.


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