In one week, you'll be able to buy stock in the Atlanta Braves

Starting on July 19th, the Atlanta Braves will be a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ

If you have a friend or family member in your life that is a massive fan of the Atlanta Braves, you can soon buy them the ultimate gift: Stock in the Atlanta Braves.

As previously announced in November of 2022, Liberty Media is splitting the Atlanta Braves off into a separate company called "Atlanta Braves Holdings, Inc.", with ticker names of "BATRA", BATRB", and "BATRK" based on which type of common stock is being followed (A, B, or C-class common stock).   

Ownership History of the Atlanta Braves

To fill in the backstory: Liberty Media bought *acquired (see note below) the Atlanta Braves from Time Warner for $1.5B back in 2007. The Braves are one of many entertainment holdings that Liberty owns, including Formula One Group, SiriusXM, and LiveNation. The Braves are wholly owned by Liberty but operate independently: Liberty Media does not take money out of the team nor put money into the team. Rather, the Atlanta Braves spend what they make, and that's in some ways a good thing. I'd rather know that my purchase of a Braves jersey or dinner in The Battery directly contributed to my team's ability to retain a player, or sign a free agent, rather than going into the pocket of an owner that may or may not be interested in making the team better (I'd shout out individual owners that are not good for the game, but there's practically too many to count - Colorado's Dick Monfort, Oakland's John Fisher, Chicago White Sox's Jerry Reinsdorf, etc.)

* UPDATE: Referencing the transaction as a simple purchase by Liberty Media from Time Warner is a bit simplistic. Braves Corporate Communications Director Sarit Babboni reached out to clarify the logistics of the transaction:

“In May 2007, we exchanged 68.5 million shares of Time Warner common stock, then valued at $1.5 billion, in a tax-efficient transaction for a subsidiary of Time Warner which held the Atlanta Braves Baseball Club, Leisure Arts, and $984 million of cash.” 

So, not a standard purchase like you'd normally think of how a professional baseball team would be acquired, but an asset swap between the two companies.  

What's different for the Braves vs the rest of MLB

Because they're part of a publicly-owned corporation, limited Atlanta Braves financial information is disseminated during investor calls and financial reporting, which is unique in baseball. The Braves make money both from baseball operations - television broadcast deals, ticket and jersey deals, etc - as well as their real estate holdings via The Battery. This information is widely reported by the baseball media, as the financials of all other baseball teams are a black hole of information when it comes to finances. This reporting will not only continue after the move, but it's believed it will need to be more detailed and granular. 

The logistics of the change

The change happening next week is referred to as a "Split Off", where the existing tracking stock is converted into a new stock for a new company, being called "Atlanta Braves Holdings, Inc." Everything currently organized under the existing holding group, including Truist Park, The Battery Atlanta, the assets and liabilities associated with both, the intellectual property of the team, as well as the corporate cash currently held by the holding group, will be transferred to the new business. 

MLB has reportedly already approved the move - there are rules in place prohibiting MLB teams from becoming publicly-traded, but the Atlanta Braves are grandfathered in as Liberty made the purchase from Time Warner before these rules were put into place by the league. 

Does this mean the Braves are being sold by Liberty Media? 

We don't know. The big unknowns here is how much stock will be allowed to be purchased by non-Liberty entities, although Liberty has stated that they will retain control of the club. Any sort of acquisition, given MLB's rules for ownership of clubs, would need to be formally presented to Liberty Media's Board of Directors for approval rather than done simply through acquisition of stock on the open market. 

This move does make it easier for Liberty Media to sell the team, if they so choose, by removing them from their existing corporate structure. It's unknown if that would actually happen, though. Liberty Media paid $1.5B in 2007 when acquiring the team and Forbes recently valued the team at $2.6B, which would make them the eighth-most valuable team in Major League Baseball. 

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