Teachers Want to Increase Their Share Of MLSE
Globe and Mail article states that the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund want to buy out TD share of MLSE.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...rticle2016869/
Now, it does state that it's being done to help streamline their sale of shares in the company. But still,
TORONTO FC, 2017 MLS CHAMPIONS!!! (Still the greatest in league history!)
So like most said... nothing will change.
wow, sounds like their fund managers are up to something.
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It would be interesting to know how much they paid for TD's 13.5%.
So now they own 80% and most likely ask somewhere near $2 billion for their shares. Good thing about this is now there is one less owner of MLSE.
Sounds like they've got plans for all that Skype money...
http://www.thestar.com/business/comp...e-in-mlse?bn=1
The Star says its done
Well that puts Tannenbaum firmly out of the running.
And also could explain the lack of news on the sale front.
Seems like the people kicking tires didn't like having 2 first rights of refusal.
^ Any idea who's been kicking the tires?
I wish that it bows in their face
Well it appears the sale isn't going too well, or else they wouldn't have had to buy out TD.Originally Posted by Red Rat
I'm betting they were asking for too much based on stagnant or declining revenues.
I guess they got to use to over-charging for stuff and people willfully buying. It won't work on this though.
I believe that was CPP, not teachers...
The Teachers should buy a knighthood...
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
Very strange development. Trying to understand what's going on with these parties is like trying to decipher what's going on in the Kremlin.
Could be that the auction is failing and Teacher's is trying to clean up loose blocks (ie keep the price up).
Could be that the auction is succeeding and this is some sort of manouver relating to Tanenbaum (who holds some sort of right of first refusal). But in this scenario, why would Teacher's sell at anything less than what Teachers' get? Maybe there's also another side deal involved on making them whole on that. If it's something along these lines, Tanenbaum will likely sue everyone involved.
Or could be something else entirely.
Never a dull moment.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
i still think it will be Rogers that jump on this. the teachers pension are gobbling up what they can so that it makes it more attractive when it comes to selling.
seems like they are sending a signal with regards to the value of MLSE
Does anyone on here have a couple of billion bucks that they're wondering what to do with? You go straight to inception number 1 on season seat relocation events and may even get a discount on pints on game days...
We are the Angry Mob, we read the papers every day
We like who we like, we hate who we hate
But we're also easily swayed
Bob McCown was just talking about this development on PTS around 5pm. He states that there was an auction in late April for Teacher's portion of MLSE, and that there were zero bids.
The big stumbling block seems to be the fact that they are trying to get 20 times EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes). Apparently MLSE makes $100 million a year in profit.
This makes the most sense to me. But also...we are not seeing all the pieces on the chessboard.
The markets are crazy right now. Anything goes in the name of "strategic synergy". Microsoft just bought Skype for 3x what it traded for 18 months ago. So I wouldn't totally dismiss the idea that someone might be willing to put a stupid number on the table.
Somehow this must be related to Tanenbaum. The more I think about it, the more that makes the most sense to me.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Moderator
McCown also said he thinks that MLSE are doing these specifically because they've been told by one or more prospective bidders that this would make it a more attractive asset.
If you're a billionaire looking to buy a sports property, the less co-owners you have to deal with, the better.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
He's got this backwards. No buyer ever would bid for anything less than 100% of MLSE. The question is, how does the pie get split? If Tanenbaum has rights of refusal, he'll get more than his fair share. If this somehow changes that, then he won't.
I am dying to see Tanenbaum's reaction to this.
If Tanenbaum's fine with this, that would say to me that it's a failed auction. If he's pissed, then it's some sort of move against him by Teachers.
Or something like that!
Last edited by ensco; 05-10-2011 at 06:34 PM.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
You are correct. I was bleary-eyed when I read that article many hours ago this morning.
So what does this mean for TFC? Thats all I care about......
Will the company go public?
It means there's a good chance they won't spend too much money until the sale is completed.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...rticle2016869/
According to the Globe, Tanenbaum's position is unchanged by this. But "tidying up for buyers" makes zero sense as motive. It's not credible. A buyer justs makes his offer to all shareholders, and makes it conditional on acceptance by all. It's not a problem.
Tanenbaum himself sounds like the background source for that story, to me.
This is more interesting than it looks.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
I think this maneuver takes Larry out of the running . One, it cost that guy much more to buy (he would be stretched even to buy at 66%) and also this means the bidder only has to deal with him and not TD also at first refusal level. And how do they deal with Larry? Well they just buy the whole damn thing. The new owner/bidder just makes an offer to one party (Larry) instead of multiple where the risk of it not going through is greater. They will make Larry a sweet offer he can't refuse. We are no longer looking at a majority owner, we are looking at sole owner.
^Since Larry isn't talking, but is instead going off the record to say he's still driving the bus, I agree, but I don't think the dollars matter, because it would be someone else who financed Larry's exercise of his right of refusal, in any scenario.
But the fact that Teachers increased their ownership, or the absolute number of shareholders was reduced, must be meaningful somehow to how those rights work. It's the only plausible motive as to why Teachers would do this, after all these years of co-existing with TD, now.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
All owners have the first right of refusal. The order in which they go depends on who is selling. In this case Larry goes first. If he was silenced through money, then the next right falls to TD. And TD has the money to buy the OTPP share in MLSE. Well the bidder needs to make sure they were out of the equation, hence this move.
Last edited by boban; 05-11-2011 at 07:40 AM.
This is like selling a piece of land..when you are ready to sell, you talk to the neighbours to see if they want to sell...and in some cases one party buys another so you have a bigger property to sell to a developer etc....thats my guess here + it raises the value of the property when you have less interests, regardless if its a small piece or not...
Another idea...maybe TD is part of the financing play and they wanted to exit to be able to make that happen...
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