Host Communications, Inc. (HCI) Founder Jim Host said
that the deal to sell his KY-based sports marketing company
to MLB Rangers/Stars Owner Tom Hicks "is off," according to
Jacalyn Carfagno of the LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER. Host: "The
fit wasn't going to work." Hicks had wanted to "fold HCI
into the regional sports marketing business he envisioned"
to join his teams and his radio and other media businesses.
But Host said that he was concerned about "whether he would
be able to maintain and enlarge his vision for a national
collegiate sports marketing company." Host: "I just didn't
see that happening; we might be shifted in other directions.
I really wasn't comfortable with where that was heading."
Host implied that the merger would have sent HCI in the
direction of marketing professional sports. HCI's clients
include the NCAA, several athletic conferences/organizations
and college athletic programs. Host: "I've never been
comfortable in the pro business." Carfagno put the HCI deal
on the "small" scale for Hicks, as it meant a cash outlay
"in the range of" $28.5M (HERALD-LEADER, 11/26).
WHERE TO FROM HERE? Host and HCI's board will "explore
other ways to find" financing to grow the business, such as
merging with Dallas-based sister company Universal Sports
America and taking the new company public or bringing on new
investors. Robert Prather, President of Atlanta-based Bull
Run Corp., Host's largest shareholder, said that his company
is "willing to put up more capital" (HERALD-LEADER, 11/26).
