Stanley Gold, Leo Hindery to appeal rejection in Dodgers bidding

Stanley Gold and Leo Hindery, the leaders of the two Dodgers bid groups rejected by Major League Baseball, will appeal to a court-appointed mediator, two people familiar with the process said Thursday.

Joseph Farnan, the mediator overseeing the sale of the Dodgers for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, is scheduled to hear from Gold and Hindery on Monday, the people said.

Farnan is expected to rule Tuesday. The 30 major league owners are expected to vote to approve or reject all remaining bidders next Thursday or Friday.

Final bids are expected to be submitted the following week, with outgoing owner Frank McCourtselecting a winner on or about April 1. McCourt must submit the purchase agreement to the Bankruptcy Court on April 6 and complete the transaction by April 30, the same day he must pay his ex-wife $131 million in a divorce settlement.

Alan Casden, the Beverly Hills developer rejected last week by MLB, was the first bidder to exercise the option to appeal. Farnan denied Casden’s appeal on Monday.

MLB has approved four parties to proceed to a vote of the owners: hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen; St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke; a group led by Magic Johnsonand veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten; and a group led by Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisleyand Tony Ressler, co-founder of Ares Capitalin Los Angeles.

Hindery, the former chief of the YES Network, is partners with Tom Barrack, chairman of Colony Capital in Santa Monica. Colony has investments in gaming, an association upon which MLB generally frowns. The Hindery group is expected to show the mediator how it believes it can comply with MLB rules regarding ownership involvement in gaming interests.

Gold oversees Shamrock Holdings, the investment arm of the family of the late Roy Disney. Gold and the Disney family are partners in the Dodgers bid.

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Stanley Gold, Leo Hindery to appeal rejection in Dodgers bidding