The "long-awaited" sale of the L.A. Kings was completed last
night, after the team declared Chapter 11 to allow the deal to be
finished. The team was sold by LAK Acquisition Corp. -- headed
by Jeffrey Sudikoff and Joseph Cohen -- to Majectic Anshutz
Venture, a partnership of Denver-based Philip Anshutz and L.A.
developer Edward Roski, Jr. The bankruptcy move "helped the
parties reach a definitive sale agreement for $114 million,
including a binding agreement with Laker and Forum owner Jerry
Buss that could move the team into a new arena yet to be built."
There is an "approval hearing" scheduled for October 5 in U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in L.A., and the sale also needs approval from
the NHL Board of Governors. Anschutz and Roski also "have the
option to purchase a minority interest in the Lakers." NHL
officials had viewed bankruptcy as a final option, but "almost
everyone involved recognized the neccessity of running the Kings
through a cleansing process of bankruptcy, protecting the
potential purchasers from unseen potential future liabilities."
NHL General Counsel Jeffrey Pash said "the bankruptcy filing will
have no effect on the club's operations" (L.A. TIMES, 9/21).
