Tom Clancy announced this morning that he is abandoning
his plans to purchase the Vikings. In a letter to NFL
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Clancy said that he could not
restructure his group's financial proposal by today's
league-imposed deadline. Clancy: "That being so, in the
best interest of the league, the team, and the team's
current owners and fans, I withdraw from the transaction.
... The decision was painful but necessary" (THE DAILY).
NEW LEAD INVESTOR SOUGHT: In St. Paul, Sansevere &
Seidel report that Clancy's departure leaves his point man,
Marc Ganis, "scrambling to find a new lead investor who
could keep the deal alive." The league gave Clancy's group
until "the close of business" today to provide final
documents for the sale. Ganis "can shuffle the investors
because Vikings owners agreed to sell the team to a company
called Purple Storm Acquisitions and not Clancy by name."
But co-Owner Skip Maas said, "Our deal was with Purple Storm
Acquisitions and Tom Clancy. If Clancy's out, it's a dead
deal." Maas, on Ganis: "We won't sell to him. I always
wondered if Ganis was Clancy's point man or if Clancy was
Ganis' front man" (PIONEER PRESS, 5/20). Ganis: "Tom
doesn't want to get out, but his divorce lawyer has advised
him to." In Minneapolis, Banks & Parrish report that Ganis
will meet with a new investor today in Chicago. The unnamed
investor "was part of Clancy's group as a minority investor
as recently as two weeks ago" (STAR TRIBUNE, 5/20).
ANALYSIS: In St. Paul, Bob Sansevere analyzes Clancy's
failed bid and writes that his withdrawal "ends what had
become a gross miscalculation of what it takes to own an NFL
team." When he met with Tagliabue May 11, Clancy "admitted
he did not know all the investors Ganis had lined up."
Sansevere: "That stunning admission did nothing to build
confidence in Clancy or the deal" (PIONEER PRESS, 5/20).
BIG RED: In San Antonio, former Spurs/Nuggets Owner Red
McCombs said if the Vikings deal is reopened, "we'll move
quickly ... overnight if need be" (EXPRESS-NEWS, 5/20).
