Padres’ Sale Expected to Be Announced Soon

It appears that baseball’s longest-running soap opera finally will have its own producer, sources said, when the Padres are expected to announce as early as Monday that the club will be sold for $75 million to television producer Tom Werner of Los Angeles and nine limited partners.

The sale almost was completed a week ago until a glitch held things up, a source close to the investment group said Saturday. The group is confident that a letter of intent will be executed perhaps on Monday.

Padre owner Joan Kroc and chief executive Jerry Kapstein each refused comment, but a member of the group, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said that the deal is in its final stages.

“We all agreed not to talk to the press about this,” a limited partner said, “but I guess they (Kroc and Kapstein) decided to leak it out.”

Werner, 39, a partner in Carsey-Werner Co., which produces “The Cosby Show,” and “Roseanne,” among other TV shows, would be the managing general partner of the Padres if the sale is completed. Yet, sources in the group said, Werner will own less than 50% of the club.

The wealthiest of the group, sources said, is Ernest Rady of San Diego, chairman of the American Assets and Insurance Co. of the West. The others include:

--Scott Wolfe, a partner in the law firm of Latham & Watkins who put the group together.

--Russell Goldsmith, chairman and chief executive officer of Republic Pictures and a director of City National Bank in Beverly Hills.

--Arthur Rivkin, former president of Coca-Cola Bottling of San Diego.

--Leon Parma, president and owner of Coast Distributing Co., who also is a major stockholder at the La Jolla Bank and Trust.

--Arthur Engel, president of Southwest Marine Inc.

--Jackson W. Goodall, CEO and chairman of Foodmaker Inc.

--L. Robert Payne, president of Mission Valley Associates Inc. and part-owner of the Doubletree Hotel.

--Malin Burnham, chairman of First National Bank and John Burnham and Co.

“We’ll be able to talk to you early next week,” Wolfe said, “but Tommy and I are not at liberty to discuss this right now.”

Beth Benes, Padre general counsel said: “I don’t have anything to say right now. I can’t comment.”

The eight-man baseball owners’ committee, however, which screens the transfer of major-league franchises, already is familiar with the prospective sale.

“I haven’t been closely involved because of all the labor negotiations,” Milwaukee Brewers’ owner Bud Selig said, “but from what I understand, it’s very close.”

Once the parties sign a letter of intent, Werner and his partners will have up to 45 days to study the Padres’ books and operations. At the same time, the screening committee will be examining the financial statements of all the ownership partners.

“They’ll have to divulge all of their financial information, and their complete backgrounds will be checked,” said Kansas City Royals President Joe Burke, a member of baseball’s expansion committee. “They’re extremely thorough.”

If the Werner group agrees to purchase the team after 45 days, and is endorsed by the screening committee, the major-league owners would have to approve the transfer by a vote at their quarterly meetings June 13-14 in Cleveland.

“We’ve been at this a long time,” said a member of the ownership group. “We’re just keeping our fingers crossed right now.”

The Padres went on the market Oct. 17 for $100 million, but with the exception of a group headed by Sid and Jenny Craig of Del Mar in December, there have not been any impending deals. Several high-profile names expressed interest in the club, including Lakers’ majority owner Jerry Buss and Kings’ owner Bruce McNall. Yet, they never were allowed the opportunity to enter serious negotiations.

Werner, who recently sold the rights to The Cosby Show for $50 million to NBC, is co-creator and executive producer of The Cosby Show and Roseanne. He also is an executive producer of “A Different World” and “Grand.”

News of the pending sale circulated throughout the Padre clubhouse Saturday, prompting numerous jokes and skepticism.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn said. “We’ve been over this road before.

“But when we started hearing about it, a lot of guys were making jokes and stuff, wondering if maybe we can get some guest spots on The Cosby Show. Joe Carter was talking about going on Different World and taking Whitley out to dinner.

“If this thing works out, great. If it doesn’t, we’re in good hands.”

The Padres have been in a flux of transition since the January, 1984 death of Padre owner Ray Kroc. The club has gone through four managers, one who was a no-show on the eve of spring training; three presidents, one which made an obscene gesture to the crowd on fan appreciation day; two son-in-laws, one who installed a secret door-opener in his office; and hundreds of players, one who accused Kroc of poisoning the world with her cheeseburgers.

“Everything that’s gone on here would be funny to everyone else,” one front-office employee said, “but when you’ve been through all of this, it’s not funny in the least.”