Lafley buys slice of Reds
BY CLIFF PEALE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Among the new minority owners of the Cincinnati Reds this season will be one of the nation’s best-known business leaders: A.G. Lafley.
The Procter & Gamble Co. chairman and chief executive is in for a “micro-share” of one of the Reds’ new ownership units in Cincinnati Reds LLC, he confirmed Thursday.
“I’m a baseball fan, and a long-time Cincinnati Reds fan,” Lafley wrote in an e-mail message.
Bobby Lawrence, a longtime friend and business partner of Castellini’s and a radio executive with links to the St. Louis Cardinals, also confirmed that he would be investing in the Reds. Lawrence is advising the new ownership group on media and marketing strategies.
Last year, Lawrence helped broker a deal for the Cardinals to buy a 50 percent stake in KTRS-AM in St. Louis and move broadcasting rights to that station. He was one of the early executives at WLW-AM.
Lafley and Lawrence will be a small part of the group led by new Reds CEO Bob Castellini. The group also includes Tom and Joe Williams. Castellini said last week that they are selling small units to investors around the region, and will announce the investors once they are approved by Major League Baseball.
The units are priced at $6.5 million each. Each unit is believed to represent about 4 percent of the team.
While minority owners don’t have much say in the team’s personnel decisions, they do enjoy the prestige that comes with being a Reds owner. Any financial return would most likely come when the team is sold.
Because of the sales, it’s still uncertain how much of the team Castellini will own personally.
Originally Posted by TeamBoone
Thanks.
