Nintendo selling stake in Seattle Mariners baseball team

The American branch of platform holder Nintendo is to sell its majority stake in Seattle baseball team the Mariners.

That’s according to the Seattle Times, which reports that Nintendo will retain a 10 per cent stake in the baseball team. The rest of its holdings will be sold to First Avenue Entertainment.

The majority stake is being sold to a group led by current minority owner John Stanton, who will replace Howard Lincoln as CEO.

This sale is yet to occur; it must be approved by Major League Baseball and Seattle Times reports that won’t be taking place until August.

Nintendo of America owned the Seattle Mariners for 24 years. The firm’s then president Hiroshi Yamauchi purchased a majority stake in 1992 for $125m. Yamauchi transferred ownership to Nintendo of America in 2004.

The news of Nintendo’s sale of the Mariners comes after disappointing financial results. The company’s earnings fell 61 per cent year-on-year to under $150m. And the coming year looks to be tough for the firm, too, with Nintendo predicting only 800,000 Wii U sales.

From the first day of our involvement nearly 24 years ago, Nintendo has had two goals for its investment in the Mariners,” Lincoln said.

First, we wanted to assure the permanence of the team in this great city. And on that count, I am proud and gratified that this agreement further solidifies that goal. On the other hand, I’m equally disappointed that we have not been able to host a World Series game for our fans.”