SAN DIEGO — Former agent Jeff Moorad completed his initial acquisition of the San Diego Padres from John Moores and was to be introduced Thursday as the team's incoming vice chairman and CEO.

The Padres said in a statement that "an initial transaction is complete, beginning the transition of club ownership to a Moorad-led group."

Also Wednesday night, the North County Times reported on its Web site that Padres CEO Sandy Alderson will resign Thursday, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Moorad announced Feb. 3 that he and a group of investors intended to acquire 100 percent ownership during a period of up to five years, subject to approval by baseball owners.

Later that day, Alderson announced that he will leave the organization once the deal closes.

Moorad resigned as CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks in early January to pursue the purchase of the Padres.

The deal values the team at $500 million. When it closes, Moorad will be CEO of a club that lost 99 games in 2008, its worst finish in 15 seasons.

Moores, the majority owner since December 1994, will remain the chairman.

Neither Alderson nor Moorad returned phone messages Monday night, and Moores didn't return an e-mail.

The sale was precipitated by Moores' difficult divorce from his wife, Becky.

On the day he resigned from the Diamondbacks to pursue the purchase, Moorad called the Padres "a jewel of a franchise."

Moorad was a formidable agent who represented several major sports figures, including baseball's Manny Ramirez and Eric Karros, before he purchased a share of the Diamondbacks in 2004.

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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.