Maple Leafs' Parent Company MLSE Now Worth $8 Billion US After OMERS Purchases 5% Indirect State from Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports
Reports of OMERS interest in Tannenbaum's Kilmer Sports first surfaced in the summer.
OMERS is acquiring a five percent indirect stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment as part of a deal with MLSE chair Larry Tanenbaum.
Tanenbaum announced the sale of 20 percent of his company, Kilmer Sports Inc., to OMERS, a pension plan serving 540,000 Ontario municipal employees. for US$400 million, which will give the company an indirect stake of 5 percent of the Toronto Maple Leafs' parent company.
“As an owner of MLSE, I’ve always seen myself as a steward of a public trust, working in service to the fans and the public to build Canada’s most iconic sports teams and win championships,” Tanenbaum said in a release on Monday. “Now with this investment by OMERS, I’m thrilled to be sharing this public trust with over 600,000 hard-working Ontarians. Today is a good day for the future of MLSE.”
Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Inc. owns 25 percent of MLSE with Bell and Rogers Communications each owning 37.5 percent.
Sportico first reported OMERS interest in Tanenbaum's stake on June 21.
MLSE consists of a group of sports properties that includes the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors of the NBA, the Toronto FC of the MLS, and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, along with their respective venues.
The purchase puts MLSE's overall valuation at $8 billion US.
News from THN.com