Happy to be here, hope I can help the ball club...

Texas Rangers Baseball Partners, the current owners of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, and Rangers Baseball Express, the local investor group led by team president Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg, announced Monday a plan to facilitate completion of the previously announced sale of the Club to the Greenberg-Ryan group. The sale of the Club and its lease of the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, together with the separate sale of the land around the Ballpark, have an aggregate transaction value of approximately $575 million. The original announcement of the sale occurred almost five months ago, at the beginning of 2010. If you are a true Rangers fan, you have been waiting around with baited breath for the official announcement of completion of the sale. As a diehard Rangers fan myself, this latest announcement fills me with the most optimism thus far throughout all these negotitations.

The Rangers sale will be accomplished through a voluntary, "prepackaged," court-supervised process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code pursuant to a plan previously negotiated and agreed to by the current Rangers owners and the Greenberg-Ryan group. The prepackaged plan, which is supported by Major League Baseball, current Rangers ownership, and the Greenberg-Ryan group, provides sufficient sale proceeds for the Rangers creditors to recover 100 percent of the portion of HSG Sports Group's debt that is guaranteed by the Rangers and for all Rangers creditors to be paid in full. For the past several months, there has been resistance by a group of creditors to this sale, reportedly because they believe the sale price is too low. The two ownership groups have chosen to implement the sale through this process because Chapter 11 is an orderly and enables them to overcome the creditors' objection and expeditiously transfer Rangers ownership to the Greenberg‐Ryan group while protecting the franchise's baseball operations. This process, which will have no impact on Rangers baseball or business operations, is the best way to complete the sale and smoothly transition to new ownership.
Texas Rangers Baseball Partners has requested that a hearing be held in 45 days to confirm the proposed sale and plan of reorganization. The sale is expected to be completed by mid-summer, subject to court approval, which will then allow the franchise to exit the Chapter 11 process.

The process and sale are expected to have no impact on Rangers baseball operations. While the sale is being completed, the current owners will continue to have control of the Club. Motions have been filed with the court in order that:
- The Rangers will be able to operate within their existing budget to sign and acquire amateur, international and professional players
- Ticket prices remain the same and purchased tickets will continue to be honored
- The fan experience at Rangers Ballpark will be unchanged, with all current amenities and promotions continuing as usual
- All salaries will be paid
- Rangers vendors and suppliers will be paid in full

MLB has agreed to provide the Rangers with a new credit facility to ensure that the Club continues to meet all of its obligations while the sale is being completed. In a separate transaction, Ballpark Real Estate, L.P., an independent investment vehicle controlled by Tom Hicks, whose family also controls HSG Sports Group and its subsidiary Texas Rangers Baseball Partners, entered into an agreement to sell or transfer to the Greenberg-Ryan group approximately 153 of the 195 acres around the Ballpark and Cowboys Stadium that is owned or controlled by Ballpark Real Estate or the Hicks family. Rangers Baseball Express required this land as a condition to its willingness to purchase the Texas Rangers. In return for the transferred land, Ballpark Real Estate will receive cash, notes, and an ownership position in Rangers Baseball Express. If you’ve ever stood on the upper deck of the ballpark and looked out over the north lawn, you know how important it is that whoever owns the Rangers have control of these beautiful pieces of land.

Current team President and key member of the ownership group seeking to purchase the Rangers, Nolan Ryan, wrote a letter to the fans on Monday conveying the desires of Rangers Baseball Express as they obtain ownership:
Dear Texas Rangers fans,

I am pleased to update you on the status of the sale of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club to Rangers Baseball Express, the local investor group led by Chuck Greenberg and me.

In January, Chuck and I, along with a number of local business leaders, agreed to buy the Club. Today, we remain committed to putting together a team that will compete for championships year in and year out, to providing the ultimate ballpark experience, and to being an active and engaged community partner. You have our promise that we will do everything we can to attain these goals, and we want to get started as soon as possible.

As you may be aware, the completion of this sale has unfortunately been delayed due to resistance by a group of creditors. I am happy to share with you that Texas Rangers Baseball Partners, the Club's current owner, and Rangers Baseball Express have a plan to finally get this sale done.

With the support of Major League Baseball, we've chosen to implement the sale through a voluntary, "pre-packaged," court-supervised process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This is the best way to complete the sale and smoothly transition to new ownership, which we expect will occur by mid-summer.

I want to assure all of our loyal fans that this process will not affect the day-to-day management of the team as we continue to compete for a playoff spot in 2010.

Ticket prices will not be affected and the Rangers will continue to offer the best added value through our many ticket programs. In addition, the Rangers will continue to operate within our existing budget to sign and acquire players.

We believe that the final outcome of this process will allow our new owners to realize a dream of making the Texas Rangers the best franchise in Major League Baseball, with the best ballpark experience for all our fans.

I thank you very much for your support and look forward to seeing you often at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington this season.

Sincerely yours,
Nolan Ryan

Nothing makes me, as a fan, happier to see the coming of an ownership group that will be dedicated to creating baseball excellence. After years of being “almost there” I have a strong feeling that the moves Rangers Baseball Express will make will push us over the top. I also want to thank all the Liverpool FC fans who have been supportive in our divorce from HSG Sports Group and Tom Hicks. Liverpool FC is going through the same thing as HSG Sports Group has ownership of them as well. The fall of Tom Hicks and his “businesses” has not just caused chaos with this American sports teams, but also across the pond. Thank God for Chuck Greenburg, Nolan Ryan, and the other local business leaders who ponied up the cash to get this sale through. And once more, not the first time nor the last time…F*CK YOU TOM HICKS!