Confirmed with Link: Tannenbaum to sell a portion of his shares of MLSE holdings to OMERS

[CincoHolio]

Unless there are follow up sales, Larry T is not selling ALL of his stake. - only 20% of what he owns, which is 25% of MLSE which is currently valued at $8B. $8B being the entirety of MLSE's value, for all stakeholders.

As someone else mentioned, this sounds like nothing more than Larry putting money into his pocket without diminishing his stake too much.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Unless there are follow up sales, Larry T is not selling ALL of his stake. - only 20% of what he owns, which is 25% of MLSE which is currently valued at $8B. $8B being the entirety of MLSE's value, for all stakeholders.

As someone else mentioned, this sounds like nothing more than Larry putting money into his pocket without diminishing his stake too much.

Yup.. and his motive could, and most likely is, something completely unrelated to MLSE

 

[Squiffy]

20% stake in his holdings apparently, which amounts to a 5% stake in MLSE.

I am not sure how all this translates to some kind of bailing on the Leafs. Or why it would matter much with the BCE/Rogers majority stake anyhow. I guess the idea is that he’s actually a fan at heart, with hopefully some degree of sway, as opposed to the soulless demons occupying the seats at the Board of.. whatever the heck the holding company is named for the Bell/Rogers stake?

 

[Da Mash]

Does this help my pension?

If not....that sucks

 

[hockeywiz542]

SIMMONS: MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum is cashing out, but staying put

MLSE is worth more than $8 million. Larry Tanenbaum has 25% of the company. What does his potential sale mean for Leafs and Raptors

torontosun.com

Larry Tanenbaum is not the owner of any of MLSE’s pro sports franchises, though even as a minority shareholder, it somehow seems so. PHOTO BY TORONTO SUN FILES

Larry Tanenbaum has never been the majority owner of the Maple Leafs or the Raptors — even though it seems like he has.

The players think of him as the owner. Management thinks of him as the owner. The owners around the league think of him as the owner. So do most fans, as much, as they pay attention to who owns any team in any town.

It has been, remarkable in a big-picture way, that a minority shareholder of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — Tanenbaum owns 25% of MLSE shares, Bell and Rogers own 75% — has become one of the most influential people in North American professional sport.

As a minority shareholder, he’s an important voice in NHL matters of business. In recent years, he or his teams have won an NBA championship, a CFL championship, an MLS championship and an AHL championship.

Just not the championship Toronto covets the most.

And now comes news that Tanenbaum is selling some of his shares in MLSE to the giant pension fund, OMERS, cashing out on huge equity gains he’s made at the age of 78. The company is worth more than $8 billion. His stake in that is around $2 billion. If he sells half of his 25% to OMERS, that would get him about $1 billion cash.

The investment has been brilliant over time. Tanenbaum’s time as chairman — and knowing him, he likely will negotiate his way into remaining in that position — has been both terrific and spotty. Tanenbaum tends to love and support almost everybody who works for him. He didn’t see flaws in Brian Burke or John Ferguson Jr., until it was so obvious that change needed to be made. And he couldn’t find a way to co-exist with Tim Leiweke, who brought in builders for the Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC, and aggressively pushed winning.

Tanenbaum liked the winning, not the brash style. He shows up for coach hirings, never for firings. But he has played his position almost perfectly. Someone has had to keep Rogers and Bell from attacking each other. The rarely public Tanenbaum has fit in wonderfully as the owner we don’t really know.

The sale of his shares will change nothing so long as he remains chairman of Canada’s largest sporting conglomerate.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Bell and Rogers challenge deal to sell MLSE stake to Canadian pension fund

Showdown between MLSE’s Larry Tanenbaum and telecom giants could initiate multi-year battle for control of a sports empire

www.theglobeandmail.com

Telecom giants Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. are challenging billionaire Larry Tanenbaum’s planned sale of a stake in the parent company of hockey’s Toronto Maple Leafs and basketball’s Toronto Raptors to a pension plan, the first skirmish in what could be a multiyear battle for control of a sports empire.

Last month, Mr. Tanenbaum notified Rogers and BCE, the parent company of Bell, that he planned to raise $400-million by selling a 20-per-cent stake in a family-controlled holding company, Kilmer Sports Inc., to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System pension plan. Kilmer Sports owns 25 per cent of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and Mr. Tanenbaum is MLSE’s chairman. Rogers and Bell evenly split the remaining 75 per cent through a jointly owned holding company.

Bell and Rogers sent a joint letter this week to Mr. Tanenbaum in which they raised questions about the proposed sale, according to two sources familiar with the matter, neither of whom described the companies’ concerns in detail. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to speak for the companies.

Spokespeople for Mr. Tanenbaum, OMERS and Rogers all declined to comment Wednesday. BCE did not respond to a request for comment.

MLSE owns Toronto’s professional hockey, basketball, soccer and Canadian Football League teams. The planned transaction with OMERS values the sports company at $8-billion, meaning Mr. Tanenbaum’s MLSE holding would be worth $2-billion. Mr. Tanenbaum, aged 78, told Rogers and Bell he wants to sell to OMERS as part of his estate planning.

Rogers and Bell first invested in MLSE in 2012. They acquired their majority stake for $1.32-billion. As part of the transaction, the two telecom companies negotiated the right to purchase Mr. Tanenbaum’s MLSE shares in 2026, at a price to be determined. Industry experts and analysts predict Rogers and Bell will eventually buy out Mr. Tanenbaum, and that neither telecom company will allow its rival to control MLSE.

The Globe previously reported that Mr. Tanenbaum’s deal with OMERS puts a higher valuation on his MLSE stake than Rogers or Bell anticipated, according to sources at both telecom companies. It also complicates MLSE’s ownership structure ahead of the potential buyout of Mr. Tanenbaum.

Both Rogers and Bell use their ownership of sports teams to build their brands and promote their wireless and wireline services. Both telecom companies have seen the value of their stakes in MLSE more than triple over the past 11 years, and both have also done well on other sports investments.

 

[Squiffy]

Odd one no? They have questions about it being worth more then expected?

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Lol.. oh ok, as I re-read it I get it. If Larry is selling at MLSE ownership at worth 8 billion, then buying him out is that price plus two years. He's setting the market for arbitration. Crystal clear, all of it now.

Oh that's slick Larry lol. Like I am going cheer for Bell and Rogers.

 

[hullsy47]

Odd one no? They have questions about it being worth more then expected?

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Lol.. oh ok, as I re-read it I get it. If Larry is selling at MLSE ownership at worth 8 billion, then buying him out is that price plus two years. He's setting the market for arbitration. Crystal clear, all of it now.

Oh that's slick Larry lol. Like I am going cheer for Bell and Rogers.

Best thing to happen .then get omers in there and see if they can get a seat on the board
Omers MADE their members 6% last
Year

Not bad cheese in retirement

 

[thewave]

Best thing to happen .then get omers in there and see if they can get a seat on the board
Omers MADE their members 6% last
Year

Not bad cheese in retirement

It'll just be more nonsense. It's been mostly bad under LarryT for the Leafs and the last thing that is needed is a fake power struggle over there. Rogers and Bell do what they want essentially as they have 75% stake.

To clarify the proposed deal to everyone that doesn't quite get it...

Larry wants to sell 20% of his 25% MLSE Shares (5% effectively) which translates into $400 Million dollars @ $8B total MLSE evaluation. IOW OMERS to pay Larry 400million for 5% total stake in MLSE.