The Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes signed a basic agreement on their merger Tuesday amid fierce opposition from players and fans.
BlueWave President Takashi Koizumi and Buffaloes President Tetsuya Kobayashi announced the signing, which took place a month after the Pacific League ballclubs received the green light to the merger plan from the owners of the 12 professional baseball clubs.
Under the agreement, the merged club will be run by a new company jointly owned by Orix Corp. and Kintetsu Corp., the parents of the two teams. It will be owned 80 percent by Orix and the rest by Kintetsu.
BlueWave owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi will become the owner of the new team based in both Kobe and Osaka in line with the plan approved at the July 7 owners meeting. Currently, the location of a team's hometown is limited to within one prefecture.