Updated: Rogers, Bell buy majority stake in MLSE

[Macksam]

The issue about being a short term problem is more a question of, can basketball be profitable long-term in this city? So far it really hasn't shown it can.
To your next point, what the Raptors have been deemed "worth" and whether they make money are two very different things. You and nor do I know if the Raptors make money because MLSE is not a publically traded company. However popular belief is that there is no way the Raptors have made money in recent years. Now that could change with an improvement on the court but there is little evidence that is changing anytime soon.

How do you figure? Saying basketball hasn't shown it can be profitable long term in this city based on the Raptors losing some fans due to management incompetence is like saying baseball or grid iron football hasn't shown it can be profitable long term in this city.

[narduch]

Looks like the change over is finally approaching:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4426208/

The article speculates Aug. 1 as the date for the sale to be completed.

[Redcoe15]

it also is not known if the new owners have settled on a replacement for peddie as mlse president. the leading internal candidate is mlse’s chief operating officer, tom anselmi, who appears to have the support of tanenbaum and lastman. But both rogers and bell have kept their feelings quiet. the hiring of a new president will require the unanimous approval of the mlse board.

For the love of fuck Rogers, make some noise!!! Make sure Ansalmi doesn't get the presidency!!!

[Phil]

Ironically, Tom getting that role might mean he has less direct involvement. It may lend itself to an actuall hiring of a team President but at this point who knows?

[Fort York Redcoat]

I was just thinking that, Phil. If they replace his TFC involvement with someone who knows the game, hell, as long as the person is exclusively responsible for our team that will be a huge improvement on accountability.

[ryan]

I was just thinking that, Phil. If they replace his TFC involvement with someone who knows the game, hell, as long as the person is exclusively responsible for our team that will be a huge improvement on accountability.

As long as that guy doesn't have to fucking answer to Tommy Boy, or what good will it do.

[Beach_Red]

As long as that guy doesn't have to fucking answer to Tommy Boy, or what good will it do.

Or the board of directors. Remember Anselmi said he needed board approval to make a coaching change - and that's probably why the timing of the change was so bad, they had to wait for a scheduled board meeting and get it on the agenda. And remember when Winter had to make a presentation to the board on a game day? It's just a terrible way to run a sports team.

[Phil]

During an ownership change, I think the challenges get even harder. Now take 2 companies that dislike and compete with one another....

Remember when the Teachers were the bad guys? I shudder to think of the new levels of disfunction that may be upon all MLSE teams with these two companies calling the shots. Our best hope is to have Larry take full control.

[tfcleeds]

Agreed that no matter what happens, having Anselmi far, far away from direct involvement in this club can only be a good thing.

[GhostKiller]

For the love of fuck Rogers, make some noise!!! Make sure Ansalmi doesn't get the presidency!!!

Nothing says "I deserve a promotion" more then complete failure and incompetence since your first day. If this twat gets the job I might learn to hate him more then Tanenbaum

[Detroit_TFC]

I agree with Phil. This ownership arrangement seems really unstable. Throw a colossal fuck-up like Anselmi as President/CEO into the mix, woah buddy. We'll be glad if they barely pay attention to TFC.

[ag futbol]

Found this article on the web today ... quite random. Gives some insight into Media Companies buying (then divesting sports teams). Youtube video is pretty insightful.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozan...-sports-teams/

[jazzy]

During an ownership change, I think the challenges get even harder. Now take 2 companies that dislike and compete with one another....

Remember when the Teachers were the bad guys? I shudder to think of the new levels of disfunction that may be upon all MLSE teams with these two companies calling the shots. Our best hope is to have Larry take full control.

not sure about that, he has been very meddling with raps and leafs, and is known to hold on to his favourites as well as overpay them locking the team into unneeded expenses....we need someone with balls that will stand up to the white collars and of course has football history. And more importantly doesn't care for FO advancement....lol pipe dream

[Redcoe15]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey...rs-bell-regime

Appearantly, Richard Powers, assistant dean at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto, believes there will be pressure for teams to win under the new regime at ML$E. Especially if Tom Anselmi becomes its president. Seriously!

“Under current management, the bottom line has been very positive,” said Powers. “The new owners have to maintain that and make improvements where they can. The real change, hopefully, will be on the ice and on the courts.”

That might mean good news for Anselmi, the organization’s executive vice president and chief operating officer and top man since Richard Peddie’s retirement. But it could be bad news for Burke and Colangelo.

“Tom, so far, has shown he can do the job,” said Powers.

Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but...

[ryan]

“Under current management, the bottom line has been very positive,” said Powers.

EXACTLY. BOTTOM LINE


Shit doesn't matter except that. Keep your money folks!

“The new owners have to maintain that and make improvements where they can. The real change, hopefully, will be on the ice and on the courts.”

What about the pitch? Oh for fuck's sake. "Hopefully" ??? HOPEFULLY? DEMAND IT YOU FUCKING CUNTS. Fuck Toronto sports. Fuck it.

[ensco]

if they're going to quote clowns like this, I would like the Star to ask this idiot professor to disclose any and all interactions between himself and MLSE execs, and to share that disclosure with us.

What access to data, interviews, free tickets, anything, did this guy get, and from who?

Because how in God's name can you practice the sacred art of studying sports management in Toronto without interacting somehow with MLSE?

[prizby]

need to get a TFC fan on the board of directors #NuffSaid

[ensco]

This is interesting.
No frickin' way is paperwork the holdup of a deal scheduled to close on a date known weeks ago.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4453459/

[jazzy]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey...rs-bell-regime

Appearantly, Richard Powers, assistant dean at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto, believes there will be pressure for teams to win under the new regime at ML$E. Especially if Tom Anselmi becomes its president. Seriously!



Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but...

wierd,.... on the sportsnet sight the focus of the same article was centred on the rogers/bell conglomerate being the instigators of change to win as opposed to mlse/teachers pension execs sole interest on profit.....therefore Burke/Colangelo/Anselmi all have to be nervous whether the future includes them ....yadayadayada...not in my lifetime

[Oldtimer]

This is interesting.
No frickin' way is paperwork the holdup of a deal scheduled to close on a date known weeks ago.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4453459/

From that Globe article

All of the approvals necessary for the sale have been received, with the NHL, NBA, American Hockey League, Major Soccer League and the Competition Bureau all giving their consent

[T-boy]

need to get a TFC fan on the board of directors #NuffSaid

Some English clubs have a "non executive, non voting" supporter from a supporters group on the board. It means that there is always transparency in regards to the club and the information the supporters are getting from board level.

[Oldtimer]

Some good news, most of the ML$E board are going to lose their positions:

Once the sale closes, the MLSE board of directors will undergo a major change. It will shrink from seven directors to six, as the incoming company president is not expected to get a seat. Leaving the board will be Robert Bertram, Jane Rowe, Glen Silvestri and Ashvin Malkani, who represented the former owner, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board. Richard Peddie stepped down from the board when he retired as MLSE president earlier this year.

The only holdovers on the new board will be MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, who owns the other 25 per cent of the company, and his long-time associate Dale Lastman. The other four directors’ seats will be split equally between Rogers and BCE. A source said Rogers chief executive officer Nadir Mohamed and BCE CEO George Cope will be on the board but it isn’t known who the other BCE and Rogers representatives will be.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4426208/

Bogers are going to have their top people on the board. This is great news, because first it means they are making ML$E a top priority, and secondly, unlike Pension Plan bureacrats, these are very smart people who won't be able to have the wool pulled over their eyes.

Speaking of Bell, they are running very well under their CEO:

http://business.financialpost.com/20...fit-spikes-31/

While profit will continue to be the primary goal, I expect these people to take a longer-term view than just the next quarter's results or this season's SSH sales.

[Redcoe15]

From the article,

It also is not known if the new owners have settled on a replacement for Peddie as MLSE president. The leading internal candidate is MLSE’s chief operating officer, Tom Anselmi, who appears to have the support of Tanenbaum and Lastman. But both Rogers and Bell have kept their feelings quiet. The hiring of a new president will require the unanimous approval of the MLSE board.

No one can expect any hope from ML$E if Anselmi gets the presidency. Especially on the TFC side if he's replaced by a personaly recommended Mini-Me version like Cochrane.

[BayernTFC]

Some good news, most of the ML$E board are going to lose their positions

Hopefully most decisions will not require unanimous approval:

There will be an interesting twist in how power is shared on the new board of directors. Bell and Rogers agreed that their four votes on the six-person board will always vote as one, which will prevent any deadlocks. It would also prevent Tanenbaum from aligning himself with one company against another if they disagree on an issue. Apparently, Bell and Rogers will hash it out in private how they will vote before any vote is taken.


Bell and Rogers are also expected to form a new company, which will hold their MLSE stake.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4426208/


As a minority shareholder, Tanenbaum should just be collecting a share of any profit. He should be kept far away from business operations.

[BayernTFC]

No one can expect any hope from ML$E if Anselmi gets the presidency. Especially on the TFC side if he's replaced by a personaly recommended Mini-Me version like Cochrane.

The article just says Anselmi is the leading internal candidate. Hopefully Bell and Rogers are shrewd enough to protect their interests. My advice would be to avoid internal candidates altogether. The record speaks for itself. No more losers! It's time for a complete culture change. Bell and Rogers have 4 of the 6 votes. No one can be selected without their approval.

[OgtheDim]

...As a minority shareholder, Tanenbaum should just be collecting a share of any profit. He should be kept far away from business operations.

Actually, the Christmas tree builder has been the driving force behind MLSE for well over 5 years now. He is likely to want his man as President, and that would likely be Anselmi.

Anslemi has been very good at maximizing MLSE's real estate holdings.

The question is whether Rogers and Bell will be forceful on what they really need from MLSE, which is success providing eyeballs?

The two Rogers directors mentioned have been doing this with the Jays - which is one reason why Paul Beaston was hired back. If they forcefully bring that vision to the table, then MLSE would more likely pick a President who's CV more accurately represents that aspect of executive management. The Christmas Tree Builder could probably live with that, to be honest, so I don't see him fighting Rogers/Bell if they insist on somebody other then Anselmi.

I would say the likely Anselmi scenarios are

being around as the President of MLSE 40%

being still in charge of TFC under another president 5%

moved to another portfolio within MLSE that does not affect TFC 15%

moved to a portfolio within the Christmas Tree Builder's stable of companies - 40%.

[Phil]

I always thought the whispers said that Peddie was not liked by the Christmas tree builder, and that Anselmi represented the Peddie way.

[Whoop]

I figure ensco has more on the situation.

[ensco]

Tanenbaum and Peddie did not see eye to eye, or even get along. Tanenbaum thought Peddie was a bloodless technocratic weasel who knew nothing about sports (correct), Peddie thought Tanenbaum was a meddling rich kid who had done little in life prior to buying his way into MLSE (mostly correct).

Tanenbaum was never the driving force at MLSE. He was stymied by his relatively small shareholding and the structure (Teachers had control, or near control, throughout). Chairmen run board meetings, not the company itself. The place where Tanenbaum has been important is with the NHL itself. Tanenbaum is the MLSE delegate to the NHL Board of Governors. If you think about it, it's amazing how little comment this has gotten over the years. The Leafs willingness to go along with the hard salary cap, in return for territorial protection of their monopoly, is THE biggest story of the last 10 years, and Tanenbaum owns it. (Think the Yankees or Manchester United would ever support a hard cap in their leagues? Want to know why the Leafs will never be like them, even though their support in their league is similar?)

Tanenbaum's role as governor of the NHL was a key element of the sale negotiations - if Larry hadn't agreed to the Bell/Rogers deal, Teachers were going to take that away from him. It was the key lever to getting the new deal done.

I have no idea what Larry thinks of Anselmi, but have always assumed he would be unfriendly to Anselmi because he was a Peddie guy (as all MLSE execs were/are). I also think Anselmi's lack of polish would hurt him with a guy like Tanenbaum, who is a guy who is never seen in public in clothes that cost less than $5K. Just my opinion.

The way the votes work,it all depends on the dynamics in the room - if Bell/Rogers see eye to eye, then they will decide most everything. If not, Larry will have the deciding vote.

I see the delay in closing as extremely relevant/meaningful. The new CEO conversation may not be going well. Could the deal itself blow up yet?

Part of me hopes so. Much as I want Teachers gone, I fear this can't be better, especially for the Leafs. But TFC could be better off regardless, as long as Anselmi moves along to do something, anything, else.

[narduch]

This is interesting.
No frickin' way is paperwork the holdup of a deal scheduled to close on a date known weeks ago.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4453459/

I find it interesting that this deal still hasn't closed.

My guess is that Bell and Rogers are having a hard time making decisions together.