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OTPP sells MLSE (37.5% Bell, 37.5% Rogers, 25% Tanenbaum)

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  • OTPP sells MLSE (37.5% Bell, 37.5% Rogers, 25% Tanenbaum)

    And here I thought my last offer was going to be accepted...
    The Raptors, along with the other holdings of MLSE, will be sold by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

    Sources have told QMI Agency that a deal worth as much as $2 billion is close to being settled with telecommunications companies Bell Media and Rogers Communications.

    An announcement could come as early as Friday.

    Any purchase of the Leafs and the Raptors would have to be approved by the NHL and NBA, respectively.



    Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/217192/MLSE_Close_To_$2_Billion_Sale#ixzz1g139r5QF
    Read my blog, The Picket Fence. Guaranteed to make you think or your money back!
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  • #2
    what i like most about this if true... Rogers wont be 80% owners since it looks like BCE is involved aswell.. prob why Larry is ok with it... not sure how BCE & Rogers will work together... should be interesting if nothing else

    Comment


    • #3
      So much for no sale.



      TORONTO - The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is about to cash out its controlling stake of the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment empire -- selling to a pair of media giants.

      Sources have told QMI Agency that a deal worth as much as $2 billion is close to being settled with telecommunications behemoths Bell Media and Rogers Communications, who have been rivals in the past for the much desired 79.5% shares of MLSE.

      Bell and Rogers represent TSN and Sportsnet, the No. 1 and 2 sports broadcasting powers in Canada, but they will call a truce and split the shares with so many lucrative deals to be spun off their union.

      An announcement could come as early as Friday, but there are many moving pieces that could delay the final sale until closer to Christmas. MLSE runs the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, the Air Canada Centre and has high profile real estate holdings. They also own LeafsTV, as well as basketball and soccer television holdings. Rogers, meanwhile, owns the Toronto Blue Jays, making the baseball team an obvious addition to the new combined network.

      Of course, any purchase of the Leafs and the Raptors would have to be approved by the NHL and NBA, respectively. Bell also owns 18% of the Montreal Canadiens with naming rights to its arena. But an NHL executive indicated Thursday night that the league is aware there is an imminent change in the Toronto ownership situation. One of the matters to be settled is Bell's 18% interest in the Montreal Canadiens, which must be divested at some point under NHL rules.



      It was just two weeks ago that the Teachers announced they were taking the shares off the market after an eight-month search did not produce the desired price. At the time, industry analysts concluded that only a joint venture of some kind between broadcasting kingpins would fetch the big dollars that Teachers was seeking and the November announcement can now likely be put down to a game of high-stakes poker.

      Others say that the early-season success of the Leafs and the possibility of big playoff gates in coming years has made MLSE more attractive than ever.

      There was speculation that inability to agree on the sharing of broadcast rights and on-line streaming of hockey games was a potential deal-breaker, For the local sports fan who has grown frustrated with the MLSE's teams doing poorly in competition -- the Leafs have not made the playoff in six years -- there is a lot to like about a change. Presumably, a pair of communications firms with lots to gain from high ratings and ancillary revenues would put a lot more interest in supervising the finished product than a faceless pension fund.

      A sale to Rogers and Bell would also mean that construction magnate Larry Tanenbaum, who holds the remaining 20.5% interest in MLSE, will not exercise his right of first refusal on the shares, or that he tried and failed with a plan of his own.

      MLSE officials were silent all day Thursday, first when the Toronto Sun requested an update on the search to replace president and CEO Richard Peddie, who is set to retire in three weeks, and then in response to the QMI report. There is speculation that John Tory, a former president and CEO of Rogers, will play a role in the new operation.

      Laval University business profressor André Richelieu noted it made sense for Bell and Rogers to get together in this case.

      "We can already see small battles between the two giants on the broadcast rights," he told QMI. "The big risk is that the Leafs fans find themselves taken hostage."
      http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL...slam!%20sports

      Comment


      • #4
        DoNDaDDa wrote: View Post
        what i like most about this if true... Rogers wont be 80% owners since it looks like BCE is involved aswell.. prob why Larry is ok with it... not sure how BCE & Rogers will work together... should be interesting if nothing else
        If they are splitting the shares, I imagine they will split all the games for everything. In a situation like this, there will always be a need for a third owner in my opinion.

        Comment


        • #5
          Presumably, a pair of communications firms with lots to gain from high ratings and ancillary revenues would put a lot more interest in supervising the finished product than a faceless pension fund.
          Amen. Rogers has been fantastic with the Blue Jays.

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          • #6
            http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/...s-and-bce?bn=1

            It appears this deal is done pending league approvals.

            Comment


            • #7
              DoNDaDDa wrote: View Post
              what i like most about this if true... Rogers wont be 80% owners since it looks like BCE is involved aswell.. prob why Larry is ok with it... not sure how BCE & Rogers will work together... should be interesting if nothing else
              Bell and Rogers seemed to work fine together during the Olympics.

              Comment


              • #8
                WolstatSun Ryan Wolstat
                Bryan Colangelo surely happy Glen Silvestri, the board member who wanted him gone, is now out of the picture
                I take it Silvestri will no longer be receiving a Christmas card from the Colangelo clan.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Tannenbaum just got very rich with the deal (at least on paper)....and he didnt lift a finger. Some people have......

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                  • #10
                    Toronto Raptors Being Sold to Canadian Media Companies

                    http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba...dia-companies/

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Nilanka wrote: View Post
                      Bell and Rogers seemed to work fine together during the Olympics.
                      thats a very short period of time.. what i ment was everyday business.. it might be hard at some point to get Rogers & BCE to vote on the same page on matters... it could get ugly since they really dont like each other all that much...at least Larry T is still involved

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                      • #12
                        Matt52 wrote: View Post
                        I take it Silvestri will no longer be receiving a Christmas card from the Colangelo clan.
                        I think a flaming bag of dog poop with a farewell card might be in order.

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                        • #13
                          I highly doubt anything changes from a fan perspective.
                          If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

                          Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

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                          • #14
                            joey_hesketh wrote: View Post
                            Amen. Rogers has been fantastic with the Blue Jays.
                            That's an interesting take. As a Jays fan, I wouldn't say that but to each their own....

                            For all you fans out there that thought MLSE was cheap before, hold onto your hats (and your wallet and your first born).

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              ya, how badly do rogers and bell already scam you on your cable,internet,phone,etc. already?

                              so badly, that you switch to the other one just to find out you're worse off than originally!

                              this is just another way to get more money off more people and the idiots already customers with them!!

                              did anyone else cringe when the bell ceo said "it's done wonders for the teachers pension, I can imagine what it will do for ours! so much so i've already begun to do so!!".

                              Steve Martin and Michael Cain might as well be part of it because they're all Dirty Rotten Scoundrels!!!!!
                              If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

                              Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

                              Comment

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