Selig hopes to have Braves sales completed by next month

Baseball
commissioner Bug Selig hopes the proposed sale of the Atlanta Braves will be
finalized next month.

Time
Warner Inc. is selling the team to Colorado-based Liberty Media Corp. as part
of a complex deal reached in February that values the team at $461 million.

“We’re
having intense discussions with all parties,” Selig said Thursday during a
meeting in

New York
with the Associated Press Sports Editors. “There are some open items yet,
but I think we’re moving. We’re moving hopefully toward a resolution.”

The deal
must be approved by the baseball owners. They are scheduled to meet May 16-17
in

New York.

“One
would hope that we’re done by then,” Selig said.

Time Warner
is expected to transfer the Braves, a group of craft magazines and $1 billion
in cash to

Liberty in exchange for about $1.27
billion in Time Warner shares owned by the

Colorado company.

The
agreement, which was designed to minimize taxes, must be approved by
three-fourths of the baseball owners.

The Braves
front office is expected to remain largely intact, with Atlanta-based president
Terry McGuirk continuing to run the team and John Schuerholz staying on as
general manager.