In the private equity investment world, where The Pohlad companies operate, and is also typically done when sports franchises are put up for sale, like the Orioles and Royals, companies artificially inflate their profitability and or cash flow by selling their liquid assets and converting them to cash. This reduces Cost of Goods Sold, making gross profit (and net) higher. It comes at the expense of future sales, but when you are selling the company you don’t care. When you are buying the company, it becomes more valuable even though it has less assets, because outside of the stadium, the assets are intangible, you’re buying profitability
also, cash from the seller, stays with the seller. There is a likelihood the sale will last into 2025, maybe 2026.