A group of Edmonton investors Friday delivered its
offer to purchase the NHL Oilers along with a $5M deposit,
according to Jac MacDonald of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. The
group of 17 individuals and companies is still about C$10M
short of the C$60M in equity needed to qualify for a C$40M
bank loan to come up with the full $70M [C$100M] purchase
price. But spokesperson Cal Nichols said that the investors
are confident they will surpass that figure (EDMONTON
JOURNAL, 3/14). Nichols said that "Spawn" comic book
creator Todd McFarlane has put C$1M and "may do more"
(Bernard Pilon, EDMONTON SUN, 3/15). Two "important" dates
ahead are April 27 for NHL approval and May 3, the deadline
for the closing of the sale (Ashley Geddes, EDMONTON
JOURNAL, 3/14). Rockets Owner Les Alexander, who bid $82.5M
for the Oilers, on the $5M, nonrefundable deposit: "That's a
lot of money just to throw away. I think they have probably
gotten the team, in my opinion" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/14).
HAZY DETAILS: The local group has declined to say
"exactly which of Peter Pocklington's hockey operations they
wish to acquire and how they are going about it." Only
Oilers Hockey Inc., which holds the team, can be purchased
for $70M, according to the '94 location agreement. But the
local group "is believed to also want to include Coliseum
Management Inc. and the Hamilton Bulldogs farm team in the
same price." Pocklington said Friday that Coliseum
Management "is not part of the deal" (EDMONTON JOURNAL,
3/16). Nichols, on "whispers" of a projected ticket
increase of 20-33%: "It's an issue that currently we can't
deal with because we don't own the hockey team" (SUN, 3/14).
