Report: Indians To Go Public

March 27, 1998 / 12:37 PM EST / AP

The Cleveland Indians' owner plans a stock offering that would make the major league baseball team the first to be owned directly by the public, "The Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

The move might be intended to raise cash for owner Richard Jacobs to bid for the National Football League franchise awarded this week to Cleveland for the 1999 season, The Tribune reported.

"I'm not allowed to comment on this issue at all," Indians spokesman Bob DiBiasio said.

Baseball owners approved the Indians' proposal for a public stock offering last summer, the Tribune reported, citing unidentified sources. An announcement could come within the next week or so, the newspaper said.

The plan calls for the Indians to issue two classes of stock, with Jacobs maintaining control of voting shares, the report said.

Some other major league teams already are owned by publicly traded companies. Walt Disney Co. owns the Anaheim Angels, Time Warner Inc. owns the Atlanta Braves, News Corp. owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tribune Co. owns the Chicago Cubs.

But the Indians would be the first owned directly by public shareholders.

The Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association have been partially publicly owned since 1986, and shares in the team are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The NFL's Green Bay Packers sell stock, but shareholders do not share in team earnings or receive dividends, and the shares are not traded on any financial market.