Just when we thought the most interesting news to come out the Jaroslav Halak press conference would involve the Blues goaltender, Owner Dave Checketts throws a nice meaty bone for fans and media alike to chew on.
Following today’s press conference Checketts joined my radio show on 590 the Fan in St. Louis and gave us a pretty interesting update on where things sit with regard to the Blues impending sale.
Back in May SCP Worldwide (Blues Ownership Group) announced that the Blues largest investor, TowerBrook Capital Partners, would be selling their majority 75 % share of the St. Louis Blues and Scottrade Center.
Today we learn that Checketts, who hired Citibank Financial to lead the effort in finding a new buyer, has received three formal bids from potential investors and that the transaction will be complete by the end of the calendar year.
What does that mean for SCP Worldwide, most notably Dave Checketts who ‘s without a doubt the face the Blues ownership group? As I’ve written in the past, any potential buyer could elect to separately buy out Dave Checketts if they so choose. Checketts holds contractual rights to both manage and operate the entire Blues entity. I asked Checketts today if he’s confident that he will remain on board and continue managing and operating the franchise and he quickly responded “That’s our goal”.
In other words, there are no guarantees here but Checketts is steadfast on remaining in control of the St. Louis Blues. At the end of the day it may not be completely in his control but he didn’t come across the least bit concerned during our conversation today.
At any rate, I think most people would agree with me when I say the sooner this gets resolved the better. In many cases with these types of transactions you will see an investor also be asked to throw in some level of capital on top of the purchase price which in this case has been rumored to be in the $100 million range. The capital would go a long way towards improving a number of different areas concerning the entire entity we are dealing with here.
The January first date has been speculated as a target date for both SCP Worldwide and TowerBrook Capital Partners as the capital gains taxes are rumored to increase at the start of the New Year. Sources tell me there has been no pressure applied to Checketts from TCP to get a deal finalized by the beginning of the year. The January first date does not appear to be a discussion point for any of the relative parties involved. None of the apparent bidders are believed to be local investors although that remains unconfirmed at this time.
This will be quite an accomplishment for Checketts and company to find an investor this quickly as most believed finding a buyer under the current economic environment would be too tall of a task to tackle. Not to mention finding an investor that would keep Checketts as the point person in charge.
Blues Clues!
Blues Buzz on KFNS radio AM 590 the Fan returns this season beginning the first week of October. Once again the shows will broadcast live from Johnny Mac’s sporting goods.
Had a nice talk with Jaroslav Halak today who should have no problems fitting in with a young Blues dressing room. His new goalie mask was on display as he pays a nice tribute to three of the best goaltenders in Blues history in Jacques Plante, Mike Liut, and Grant Fuhr.
Former Blues sniper Pavol Demitra was one of the first people Halak phoned after he learned of the trade to the Blues.
Blues officials have been informed that the current dispute between Dish Network and Fox Sports will be resolved before the beginning of the Blues regular season.
“Every Game Counts” is the Blues marketing slogan for the 2010-2011 season.
The most any Blues player will play is three pre-season games during the busy pre-season schedule.
It was good to see Erik Johnson, David Perron, and Alexander Steen show up and support the Blues new goalie.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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