Owners looking to sell Raptors?

[The Truth]

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors are for sale.

 

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is looking to sell its share in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), according to Montreal newspaper La Presse.

 

The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan currently holds a 66% share.

 

Morgan Stanley has been hired to find possible buyers to complete a sale.

 

MLSE also contains the Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, the Marlies of the American Hockey League, the Air Canada Centre, Ricoh Coliseum, BMO Field, Toronto FC’s stadium and specialty channels Leafs TV and Raptors TV.

 

Rogers Communications could possibly be potential buyers, especially after reports earlier in the year that linked them to a MLSE sale.

 

Larry Tanenbaum and TD Capital also hold large stakes in the company, but do not intend to sell their shares.

 

won't post the link cuz I got it off another forum.

[Built Ford Tough]

This has been known for a while now. News first broke about 2-3 months ago that they are looking to sell and Tanenbaum and Rogers (own the Blue Jays) were speculated to be the most interested in purchasing their share.

 

The most interesting part of this is, according to something I read (not sure if it is in the same article that you are quoting or not) it sounds like the reason why Colangelo hasn't been extended is because of the OTPP. Here is the link to what I am talking about

 

If Tanenbaum and his fellow directors support Colangelo — “Bryan has a plan and we back his plan as a board,” Tanenbaum said — why has Colangelo’s contract, which expires June 30, not been extended?

 

It’s because there remains at least one anti-Colangelo voice among the power brokers. That voice, multiple club sources confirm, belongs to Glen Silvestri, a representative of the organization’s majority owner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Since the board has seven seats, three of which belong to Teachers’, and since another one of its members, CEO Richard Peddie, is essentially duty-bound to the majority owner, Colangelo isn’t likely to ink a new contract unless Silvestri comes around.

 

What, exactly, is behind Silvestri’s opposition to Colangelo’s continued presence in Toronto? That’s difficult to say since Silvestri, a chartered accountant who manages billions of the pension plan’s funds, referred all questions to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Raptors and Maple Leafs, among many things.

 

That kind of silence has been typical of the pension plan’s representatives, and it leaves those who care to parse hearsay. Sources say Silvestri, who took a seat on the board last year, has emerged as an atypically opinionated presence around the Air Canada Centre. Along with criticizing Colangelo’s record as GM, Silvestri, one league source said, has also been heard to deride Colangelo’s career as the product of nepotism. Colangelo’s father, Jerry, was owner of the Phoenix Suns when Bryan became that franchise’s general manager in 1995.

 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/nba/raptors/article/953142--feschuk-number-cruncher-standing-in-way-of-colangelo-s-new-contract

[Dash]

[expletive] OFF

 

What? The current owners suck, as long as the team doesn't move (very unlikely that happens) I think a new ownership would be a great move for Toronto.

[Buckets!]

Make it happen!

[Built Ford Tough]

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has struck a deal to buy Toronto-Dominion Bank's stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, according to sources.

 

The decision will bring the pension plan's interest in the company close to 80 per cent.

 

The move is being made in an effort to streamline the sales process for MLSE, which continues.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/teachers-to-buy-td-stake-in-maple-leaf-sports/article2016869/

 

Pretty smart move for the OTPP in regards to selling their share in MLSE. They increase their share from 66% to 80%, which will obviously intrigue potential buyers more. I'm sure potential buyers were hesitant to shell out billions of dollars for a 66% share in MLSE, but I definitely think that the same buyers would be a lot more comfrotable paying that kind of price for an 80% share in MLSE, especially considering how lucrative that kind of ownership in MLSE would be.

[Check my Stats]

I actually got this from the big ass hockey forum:

 

A Canadian sports banker familiar with the discussions on the sale of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund says it is highly likely that either Bell Canada Enterprises or Rogers Communications will pay $2.25 billion for MLS&E. This person spoke on the condition of because of anonymity because they are not authorized to disclose information on the talks.

 

It was reported by the Toronto Globe & Mail that the fund bought Toronto-Dominion Bank’s 13.5% stake to bring its share in MLS&E, which owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors, Air Canada Centre and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, to 80%.

 

Media giants BCE and Rogers are both very interested in the programming value of the sports teams which will spark a bidding war. In our most recent NHL valuations, Forbes pegged the Maple Leafs to be worth $505 million, and in our latest NBA valuations we estimated the worth of the Raptors to be worth $399 million. MLS expansion franchises have been going for $40 million, placing an aggregate value on the three teams (which includes the revenue they get from the building) at less than $1 billion.

 

Although $2.25 billion seems way too rich, the purchase of the Montreal Canadiens by Geoffrey Molson in 2009 for $575 million showed the premium being applied to hockey teams in Canada for their programming could push the value of MLSE well above $1 billion.