It took longer than anticipated, given that the two bids were reported to be the same, but San Diego Padres owner John Moores has decided to sell the club to the group headed by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.

Source: O'Malley group selected to buy #Padres. Price will be $800M, including $200M for portion of team's equity in Fox Sports San Diego.—
Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 07, 2012

The other finalist group is headed by Gary Jabara, founder and CEO of Mobilitie. Moores may have preferred the cachet and experience the O’Malley name brings.

The sale was made necessary by Moores’ 2008 divorce from his wife, Becky.

A source with knowledge of the process tells Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com that the sale of the San Diego Padres is imminent, and that the group headed by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley is the frontrunner.

Padres owner John Moores met with Peter Seidler, O’Malley’s nephew, on Friday after meeting with Gary Jabara, the other bidder, earlier in the week. Both parties have offered $800 million — $600 million for the team and $200 million for part of the team’s stake in Fox Sports San Diego.

“From what I’ve heard, it is O’Malley’s and Seidler’s to lose,” the source said. “Moores apparently also likes Jabara a lot and thinks he would be an outstanding owner as well, but the devil is in the details.”

Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley said on Wednesday that he would like to run the team once again, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“I want to reconnect the team and the community,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley, 73, said last fall that he had no interest in returning as owner or president of the team, according to the Times. Current Dodgers owner Frank McCourt agreed to sell the team on Tuesday.

“The health of the organization has deteriorated in the last 12 months,” O’Malley said. “The standing of the organization in the community has deteriorated.

“I am confident I can restore it to respectability quicker, sooner and probably better than — or at least as well as — anyone else.”

According to the Times, O’Malley has plans to meet with Commissioner Bud Selig and said that he has no concerns about assembling a group that could pay the $1 billion or more that might be necessary to buy the Dodgers.