Edmonton investors looking to purchase the Oilers have
"reached and may exceed their goal" of C$60M in equity,
according to Jac MacDonald of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. The
group had to reach C$60M by yesterday in order to obtain
C$50M in bank financing necessary to close the deal by May
5. Three more partnership units were acquired, bringing the
total number of unit holders to 27 and the number of people
to 34 (Jac MacDonald, EDMONTON JOURNAL, 4/30).
MOLSON ICE: Molson Breweries announced a seven-figure
marketing partnership with the team yesterday. The deal
will incorporate broadcast, advertising and sponsorship
components. Molson said the deal "doubles the brewery's
cash commitment to the team." Molson VP/Marketing Brent
Scrimshaw: "It's fair to say it's seven figures and above.
It really gives us a proprietary position that no one else
in the industry can match." The two-year deal makes Molson
the team's "prime" sponsor and the Oilers' official beer.
It also keeps sponsorship rights to all locally televised
Oilers games. Molson also gave a check worth C$276,187 as
the proceeds from its campaign to save the Oilers. Molson
had donated C$1 from the sale of every 12 Molson Canadian
and Molson Canadian Ice beers sold in Alberta from mid-
February to March 13 (David Bray, EDMONTON SUN, 4/30).
