boutons_
08-09-2006, 11:37 AM
Are the 76ers on the Auction Block? (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=6219)
TOPICS
Mergers & Acquisitions (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=21&nav=1), Comcast (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=296&nav=1)
INDUSTRIES
Retail/Leisure (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=28)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/dealbook/iverson.jpgThere are a couple of ways to establish yourself as a big-ticket baron. You can buy a newspaper, for example. Or you can own a major-league sports team. A number of individuals have tried the former lately; see McClatchy’s sale of the former Knight Ridder properties, aborted attempts at buying The Los Angeles Times and a successful bid for The New York Observer.
Now an opportunity to get in on the latter may be opening up. Both of Philadelphia’s dailies reported recently that the owners of the 76ers are shopping the N.B.A. team to prospective buyers, according to news accounts. Intriguingly, the newspapers reported that one of the tire-kickers has been the Kushner family, which recently purchased The Observer for $10 million.
The team’s chairman, Ed Snider of Comcast-Spectator, confirmed to the Inquirer that he has received inquiries about buying the team and has hired a major sports investment firm to evaluate a possible sale. Forbes recently evaluated the Sixers at $351 million. The Philadelphia Daily News, quoting unsourced speculation, said the price tag has been set at more than $500 million, making a sale the biggest in N.B.A. history.
According to the Daily News’s source, the N.J.-based Kushners — who were foiled in their quest to buy the Nets two years earlier — were given a tour of the Wachovia Center, a step beyond what other prospective bidders have received. The family, rather than its Kushner Companies business, was slated to be the buyer.
The family did not reach a deal with Comcast-Spectator, though a Philadelphia Inquirer source said that negotiations may resume at a later date. A spokesman said the family was not interested in a purchase “at this time,” though he declined to comment further.
What may have dampened the Kushners’ ardor may be a team with dropping attendance figures, poor playoff performance and a roster of erratic stars like Allen Iverson and Chris Webber that has pushed the team’s budget to the limit. Moreover, said Ken Shropshire of the Wharton Sports Initiative, the payoff would be long in coming.
“The short story is, [it would have to be] somebody with a lot of money that’s not looking for any quick return on their investment and can handle negative cash flow,” Mr. Shropshire told the Daily News. “If they’re thinking investment, it’s all on the back end.”
TOPICS
Mergers & Acquisitions (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=21&nav=1), Comcast (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=296&nav=1)
INDUSTRIES
Retail/Leisure (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?cat=28)
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/dealbook/iverson.jpgThere are a couple of ways to establish yourself as a big-ticket baron. You can buy a newspaper, for example. Or you can own a major-league sports team. A number of individuals have tried the former lately; see McClatchy’s sale of the former Knight Ridder properties, aborted attempts at buying The Los Angeles Times and a successful bid for The New York Observer.
Now an opportunity to get in on the latter may be opening up. Both of Philadelphia’s dailies reported recently that the owners of the 76ers are shopping the N.B.A. team to prospective buyers, according to news accounts. Intriguingly, the newspapers reported that one of the tire-kickers has been the Kushner family, which recently purchased The Observer for $10 million.
The team’s chairman, Ed Snider of Comcast-Spectator, confirmed to the Inquirer that he has received inquiries about buying the team and has hired a major sports investment firm to evaluate a possible sale. Forbes recently evaluated the Sixers at $351 million. The Philadelphia Daily News, quoting unsourced speculation, said the price tag has been set at more than $500 million, making a sale the biggest in N.B.A. history.
According to the Daily News’s source, the N.J.-based Kushners — who were foiled in their quest to buy the Nets two years earlier — were given a tour of the Wachovia Center, a step beyond what other prospective bidders have received. The family, rather than its Kushner Companies business, was slated to be the buyer.
The family did not reach a deal with Comcast-Spectator, though a Philadelphia Inquirer source said that negotiations may resume at a later date. A spokesman said the family was not interested in a purchase “at this time,” though he declined to comment further.
What may have dampened the Kushners’ ardor may be a team with dropping attendance figures, poor playoff performance and a roster of erratic stars like Allen Iverson and Chris Webber that has pushed the team’s budget to the limit. Moreover, said Ken Shropshire of the Wharton Sports Initiative, the payoff would be long in coming.
“The short story is, [it would have to be] somebody with a lot of money that’s not looking for any quick return on their investment and can handle negative cash flow,” Mr. Shropshire told the Daily News. “If they’re thinking investment, it’s all on the back end.”