Pitbull joins Jeb Bush and company in pursuit of Miami Marlins
Jeb Bush is getting some help from Pitbull in a bid to buy the Miami Marlins.
A spokesman for Armando Christian Peréz, best known as the Miami-based rapper Pitbull, confirmed Tuesday that the celebrity is joining the investment group that includes the former Florida governor, a CNBC star, and the son of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
“Yes, he is part of the group,” Peréz spokesman Tom Muzquiz said. He declined to elaborate.
As it faces competition from prominent Miami business owner Jorge Mas, the group that now counts Pitbull as a member is hoping to promote its local ties. The group is headed by New York-based Wayne Rothbaum, who allied with Boston’s Tagg Romney to pursue a bid that brought in Bush after the former governor’s own purchase attempt faltered amid a failed alliance with retired New York Yankees star Derek Jeter.
Bush lives in Coral Gables. He recruited as an investor in the Marlins bid Marcus Lemonis, a Miami native now living in Chicago who is best known as the star of a CNBC business-turn-around show “The Profit.” Rothbaum has a home in Delray Beach, about 50 miles from Marlins Park.
Before he became globally famous, Peréz served as an in-house DJ for the Marlins, and now is an owner of a charter school near the Little Havana ballpark that offers a sports-based curriculum.
In Pitbull, the Bush group secured backing from the celebrity probably most associated with promoting his Miami connections. He was the star performer at Marlins Park for Monday night’s Home Run Derby, the annual slug fest held the night before the All-Star Game.
He also owns the “Mr. 305” record label, and has used Miami as a launching pad for business ventures that include a stake in the Miami Subs chain, and the Sports Leadership Arts and Management School at 604 NW 12th Ave. He also has been a regular speaker at the eMerge Americas, the annual technology conference in Miami.
Three ownership groups have been competing to win approval by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and Major League Baseball to purchase the Miami franchise. Mas is the only Miami-based lead investor, and he heads his family’s construction and infrastructure company with headquarters in Coral Gables, MasTec. Rothbaum made a fortune selling a pharmaceutical company with U.S. headquarters in California. The two groups are competing with a bid assembled by Jeter, who has a mansion in the Tampa area.
This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Pitbull joins Jeb Bush and company in pursuit of Miami Marlins."