The Raptors ownership "shotgun" went off last night and
Allan Slaight, not team President John Bitove Jr. "is the one
left standing," according to Craig Daniels of the TORONTO SUN.
Despite a "final, last-minute attempt" to retain control of the
team, Bitove could not acquire the necessary financial backing to
buy out Slaight's 39.5% of the club and will now be bought out by
Slaight. Daniels adds that contrary to earlier reports, Bitove
could not simply declare himself a buyer and use the next 60 days
to piece together a deal. Also, several "independent sources"
say that Bitove tried unsuccessfully last night to ask Slaight
for a three-week extension of the deadline. Daniels: "[Bitove]
came oh-so-close, but was forced to allow the deadline of
midnight last night to come and go with nothing but deafening
silence as his answer ... and the absence of any answer from
Bitove was equivalent to a 'no.'" Slaight, whose family owns
Standard Broadcasting Ltd., had scheduled time this morning on
his company's flagship radio station, CFRB, to announce his plans
(TORONTO SUN, 11/15).
BITOVE MORE THAN HE COULD CHEW? James Christie of the
Toronto GLOBE & MAIL writes that while Bitove's "first stop" in
trying to make an offer to Slaight was within the Bitove family,
there was a "split in the ranks" over the potential cost of
investing. Among the "hottest rumors" last night were that
Bitove was meeting with Ford Credit Co. CEO Edsel Ford, the
nephew of Lions Owner William Clay Ford, about investing in the
Raptors. Another report had Raptors VP Isiah Thomas "working as
hard as Bitove to put together a purchasing consortium" (Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL, 11/15).
WHAT COULD HAPPEN: The SUN's Daniels reports a number of
things are expected to happen in "short order," including Slaight
moving into the Raptors' offices today and installing his own
president, "almost certainly" expected to be former SkyDome head
Richard Peddie. Also, with Bitove "out of the way," Maple Leafs
minority Owner Larry Tannenbaum and "possibly [Leafs majority
Owner] Steve Stavro will come on board" and buy a portion of
Slaight's new shares. Daniels writes that it "appears" the Leafs
"suddenly like the look" of the site for the proposed Air Canada
Centre for a shared arena. "Early indications" are that Isiah
Thomas will have "as much autonomy" under Slaight as he did under
Bitove (TORONTO SUN, 11/15).
