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Is Basillie close to a minority Predators position?
by Forechecker on 11/22/08 at 10:25 AM ET
Comments (2)
Today’s National Post provides an update on the Boots Del Biaggio bankruptcy proceeding, with an assertion that Jim Balsillie may be close to purchasing Del Biaggio’s minority stake in the Nashville Predators:
Sources say Mr. Balsillie, the 47-year-old co-founder of Reseach in Motion and lifelong hockey fanatic, is considering the final terms of an offer to acquire a 27% minority stake in the Nashville Predators, whose backer filed for bankruptcy last June.
The details and price have mostly been negotiated for the bid, which now rests with Mr. Balsillie to determine whether he wants to go ahead with the risky venture for the team, which has an estimated book value of US$30-million [sic]. If he proceeds, sources say a final offer is to be filed for approval with the U. S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of California within a few weeks.
The rest of the article projects that if he joins the Predators ownership, Balsillie, as an alternate governor of the team, could use that platform to force relocation/expansion to southern Ontario onto the NHL’s Board of Governors agenda from the inside. Much is made of a clause in the operating agreement among the Predators ownership that potentially allows a buyout after the 2009-10 season if the team fails to achieve 14,000 paid attendance and loses $20 million (PDF of Del Biaggio’s sales pitch) to that point (some reports, like today’s, use or, which would be an entirely different matter).
David Freeman, leader of the local ownership group, has publicly stated that the team actually turned a small profit last season, and paid attendance is up slightly so far this year. Unless David Poile starts spending to the salary cap, it’s highly unlikely that the team will lose that $20 million by the end of next season.
Filed in: Nashville Predators | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Tags: David+Freeman, Jim+Balsillie,
Comments
If Balsillie gets involved here maybe having his intentions known right away will be more beneficial to the board and the team. He makes no secret what he would like to do. He did so with the Penguins and he did so before when he sought the majority stake in the Preds.
At least this way with Balsillie you know right away what he wants to do. If Boots were still around and had actually had money, you might’ve had a team ripped right out from underneath you.
Posted by HockeyJoe from Upstate New York on 11/22/08 at 03:33 PM ET
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Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats and analysis. Having started over 10 years ago writing for websites like In the Crease and e-Sports, Dirk launched On The Forecheck in 2005 to cover the Nashville Predators as well as apply statistical analysis to NHL hockey.
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In this case, as the article suggests, it might be more about getting a seat at the Board, and likely is. He’s knocked quietly and politely on the door, and more publicly and noisily, and been turned away. Now he wants to go the inside route.
Maybe he is offering to help the Preds out for the chance to get a team fully for himself in Canada; save the Preds as a minority owner, and any franchise that needs relocation or whenever the topic of expansion comes up, he has the seat at the table and the connections to finally get what a $2 billion hockey passionate man should have.
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 11/22/08 at 01:28 PM ET