The parent company of Boston Red Sox Baseball Club LP and The Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Limited has ended talks to sell a minority ownership stake to RedBall Acquisition Corp. (NYSE:RBAC), a SPAC formed by longtime baseball executive Billy Beane and investor Gerry Cardinale, Axios has learned from multiple sources. An alternative investment, structured more like private equity, remains possible. Red Sox fans won't be able to buy stock in the team any time soon. Deal talks first leaked in October 2020, with RedBall seeking to acquire between a 20%-25% stake of Fenway Sports Group, L.P. at around an $8 billion valuation. It would have been funded by $575 million that RedBall raised in its IPO, plus up to $950 million Redball sought to raise from Cardinale's private equity firm (RedBird Capital Partners) and outside investors. Neither FSG nor RedBall ever confirmed their talks, nor would regulatory restrictions have allowed them to do so. RedBall couldn't raise enough outside capital at the asking price. Cardinale and FSG still may try to negotiate a private investment deal, but not one that would immediately result in a public stock listing.