Telecoms set to buy the rest of his shares in 2026, report says
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It turns out Larry Tanenbaum’s sale of part of his stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is not the slam dunk it was first reported to be.
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When the news came out in mid-June that Tanenbaum, 78, was nearing a deal with the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS) to sell off part of his 25% stake in MLSE via 20% of his Kilmer Sports Inc. holding company, the note that co-owners Rogers Communications and Bell Canada had a right of first refusal to purchase any shares in MLSE up for offer was mostly ignored.
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Well, not so fast, it seems. The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the telecom duopoly jointly sent Tanenbaum a letter that “raised questions about the proposed sale, according to two sources familiar with the matter.”
Tanenbaum, the chairman of MLSE, which is co-owned with an even 75% split by Bell and Rogers in a jointly owned holding company, was set to get $400 million from his sale.
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Overall, the planned deal would value MLSE at $8 billion, meaning the Kilmer/Tanenbaum share would be worth $2 billion. Tanenbaum reportedly told his partners he wanted to sell to OMERS as part of his estate planning. He raised his ownership stake when the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan sold its 80% ownership to Rogers and Bell in 2012. Thursday’s Globe report noted that 2012 deal included the right of Bell and Rogers to purchase Tanenbaum’s shares in 2026 at a price to be named later. But it also noted that Tanenbaum’s deal with OMERS valued the company a lot higher than the telecoms were anticipating, complicating the 2026 sale of the rest of his shares. Recent mega-sales of sports teams also add to the intrigue.
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MLSE owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, the Toronto Argonauts and the venues they play in. Rogers separately owns the Blue Jays and Rogers Centre. Bell has a stake in the Montreal Canadiens.
Tanenbaum is the chairman of the NBA’s board of governors and a governor and member of the executive committee of the NHL.
While the Maple Leafs have yet to hoist the Stanley Cup under Tanenbaum, the Raptors, Argonauts, Toronto FC, Marlies and Raptors 905 have all won championships.
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![Raptors part-owner Larry Tanenbaum holds up the Larry OBrien Trophy after Toronto beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.]()
Tanenbaum set to sell part of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment: Report
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![Larry Tanenbaum is not the owner of any of MLSE’s pro sports franchises, though even as a minority shareholder, it somehow seems so.]()
SIMMONS: MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum is cashing out, but staying put
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