Nintendo of America agreed Wednesday to sell its majority stake in the Seattle Mariners to a 17-person group of minority owners led by wireless pioneer John Stanton, The Seattle Times reported.
The deal comes after more than two years of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Nintendo and Stanton, according to a report in The Seattle Times.
Stanton, who founded the first nationwide cellular network in the 1980s, will replace former Nintendo executive Howard Lincoln as CEO of the Mariners.
"The number one goal of this ownership team is to win a World Series,'' Stanton said to The Seattle Times. "We want to win a World Series here in Seattle and have a parade and celebration for that event. I think that it's time that we had that accomplishment."
Today, the Mariners franchise is worth $1.4 billion — several times over the $100 million it was worth when Nintendo assumed control of it in 1992, according to The Seattle Times.
Nintendo will retain a 10 percent stake, and the deal requires Major League Baseball approval, The Seattle Times said.