Rogers in talks to buy Leafs?
The Star is reporting a shocker out of left field surrounding the possibility of a Rogers takeover of the MLSE conglomerate of sports teams including the Maple Leafs and their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies.
“In what would be the biggest transaction in Canadian sport history, Rogers is in talks to buy the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal worth more than $1 billion, sources said Tuesday.”
It’s hard to envision OTPP selling the majority ownership to the monstrous cash cow that is the Maple Leafs but that they’re entertaining the idea is interesting to say the least. The common complaint about MLSE’s profit-driven motives and primary concern with the bottom line doesn’t necessarily change with the potential sale to another corporation with shareholder interests of its own to look after. It’s not like the team would be handed over to a fan boy like Newcastle’s Mike Ashley or Jim Basille, which has advantages and disadvantages of its own. The Star could have a point that while losing doesn’t seem to affect ticket sales at the ACC, winning could draw a bigger overall (i.e. TV) audience. We all know more than a few bandwagon fans that could attest to that.
We know with certainty that the prospect is nothing but bad news for TSN.
