SAN DIEGO.- Entrepreneur Alfredo Harp Helú become the first Mexican to be a part-owner of a Major League Baseball team today by belonging to the group that bought the San Diego Padres.
Harp Helú will be one of the shareholders while the Seidler and O'Malley families along with businessman Ron Fowler will be the major partners.
According to the press, Harp Helú will own 10 percent of the actions.
The cousin of "the richest man of the world", Carlos Slim, Harp has been the owner of the Diablos Rojos from Mexico since 1994 and is the current president of said organization as well as the Oaxaca Guerreros.
He is also the president of Grupo Martí, a company specialized in sports equipment with over 200 locations south of the border.
In addition, he is the leader of twelve philanthropic institutions, one of them being the Alfredo Harp Helú Baseball Academy located in Oaxaca and dedicated to train young baseball players.
"I am very excited for my participation with the Padres team," said Harp Helú through a press release. "I'm specifically excited to join the O'Malley family; we are united through the love of baseball and the desire to help our community by actively participating in philanthropic activities."
A National Autonomous University of Mexico graduate, Harp Helú was considered one of the "100 Most Important Mexican Entrepreneurs" by Expansión Magazine.
The MLB approved the sale of the team for 800 million dollars to a group of businessmen, one of which was Harp Helú.
Editorial@sandiegored.com
Translation: Karen.balderas@sandiegored.com
