The sale of the Padres was unanimously approved Monday to a new ownership group, headed by Jose Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, via a conference call of the 30 Major League Baseball owners, the club announced.
The sale of the team, at a record valuation of $3.9 billion, is expected to close in the next few days. The vote had been anticipated.
The sale ends the reign of the Seidler family, among the heirs to Dodger owners Walter and Peter O’Malley. The family purchased the Padres from John Moores in 2012 for $800 million. Peter Seidler, as the club’s control person, invested heavily in the team on the field before dying of an infection on Nov. 14, 2023, at the age of 63.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I thank John Seidler and the entire Seidler family for their stewardship of the San Diego Padres,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a media release. “Continuing the legacy established by the late Peter Seidler, the Padres reached the postseason four times in the last six years, energized one of baseball’s most passionate fanbases, and strengthened the club’s role as a cornerstone of the San Diego community. We appreciate the Seidler family’s longstanding commitment to our National Pastime and their many contributions to the game.”
Feliciano is co-founder of Clearlake Capital Group, a private equity firm, and co-owner of the English soccer club Chelsea FC; his wife, Kwanza Jones, is a singer and songwriter.
“It is my pleasure to welcome José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones as the new majority owners of the Padres following today’s vote,” Manfred continued. “José and Kwanza understand the unique place the Padres hold in San Diego and the powerful bond between the club and its fans. We look forward to their leadership of the Padres and to working with them to build on the club’s strong foundation in a market that is so important to Major League Baseball.”
The Padres have rebounded nicely after a tough first half of the season. They were 48-48 at the July 12 All-Star break, 12 1/2 games behind the first place Dodgers in the National League West. Since then, as their hitting has picked up and after acquiring two front-line pitchers at th trade deadline, they are 19-10, and 16-5 in their last 21 games, to shave the Dodgers’ lead to seven games.
More importantly, at 67-58 now, the Padres are tied with the Phillies for the second and third NL Wild Card slots, a game ahead of the D-backs. The Padres play their final six regular-season games against the Dodgers and D-backs – three in Los Angeles and the last three at home vs. Arizona – when playoff seeding could very well be determined.
“We are a family first, and becoming owners of the San Diego Padres means joining an even larger one,” Jones and Feliciano said in a joint statement. “We are grateful to the Seidler family, and especially to Peter, for raising the expectations of what this franchise can achieve. We have built our life and our work together, and we will bring that same shared purpose, commitment, and determination to our stewardship of the Padres. It is a source of immense pride and an extraordinary opportunity to become part of a team, a tradition, and the San Diego community that has supported it so faithfully.”
Feliciano and Jones head the sixth ownership group in the history of a ballclub that expanded into the NL in 1969 and are projected to have a $1.7 billion stake in the franchise. Under the previous groups, the Padres have never won the World Series, losing under Joan and the late Ray Kroc to the Tigers in 1984, and under Moores to the Yankees in 1998.
“Our ambition is clear: to bring a World Series championship to San Diego and build an enduring organization capable of competing for championships year after year,” Jones and Feliciano added.
“We intend to be engaged owners, bringing our energy, experience, and perspective while working alongside the talented team already in place and investing ambitiously and thoughtfully in the Padres’ future. That means pursuing excellence and innovation throughout the organization, delivering a first-class experience at Petco Park, deepening the bond with the faithful fans, and making a positive impact across the San Diego community. We are all in and committed to winning.”
Updated at 12:20 p.m. Aug. 17, 2026
