With baseball's opening day and hockey playoffs just around the corner, MLB's Texas Rangers and NHL's Dallas Stars are the latest teams to hit the auction block after an active week as far as sports auctions are concerned.
On Thursday, Tom Hicks announced that he will look for minority investors for up to 49% stakes in both the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers.
The auction news bucks the common wisdom that the industry is not at all recession-proof.
"Teams across all leagues are feeling the impact of the economy," said Jeff Phillips of Stout Risius Ross Inc., adding that it may be harder to find a minority investor than a buyer for a whole team.
Hicks also owns a 50% stake in Liverpool FC of the English Premier League along with George Gillett Jr., who announced earlier this week that he hired BMO Capital Markets to assess options for all his assets, including his stake in Liverpool and the NHL's Montreal Canadiens.
Industry sources said that the Canadiens should not have a problem finding a buyer, but noted there are other teams on the market in "nontraditional hockey markets" that may have bigger problems.
In addition to the Canadiens and Stars, the Phoenix Coyotes are seeking a buyer, and it is believed that they are doing so without the help of a financial adviser.
These three franchises may not be the only teams on the block, or at least looking for some sort of recapitization. The Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Carolina Hurricanes are names that have been mentioned, but it is not known if those particular teams are actively seeking buyers.
"I think there are a lot of challenges for smaller market teams with lower revenues in all of professional sports," said Randy Vataha of GamePlan LLC. - Demitri Diakantonis
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