Labatt Brewing "is considering the sale of a big stake
in the Blue Jays but insists it still isn't selling the
baseball club outright," according to Tony Van Alphen of the
TORONTO STAR. The company "acknowledged" on Friday that
Blue Jays Chair Alan Chapin has spoken with Isles co-Owner
Howard Milstein about purchasing part of the team. Labatt
Dir of Public Affairs James Villeneuve: "There is no deal
currently in place to add a new equity partner in the Jays
ownership group. Discussions with Mr. Milstein have been
very preliminary." Sources report that Labatt, which owns
90% of the team, "could sell up to half of its stake to
various investors," including Milstein. Villeneuve added
that though discussions regarding how much of the team will
be sold are "rather fluid right now," Labatt "will not
relinquish control of the team" (TORONTO STAR, 4/24). Also
in Toronto, Bob Elliott wrote that Labatt reportedly has a
"handshake agreement" to sell half of its stake in the Blue
Jays to Milstein. Elliott also reported that Sun Media
President Paul Godfrey "has been mentioned" as the next
President of the Milstein group. Godfrey: "I've been
receiving offers to join a number of organizations for some
time, but at this present time, I'm very happy with Sun
Media" (TORONTO SUN, 4/24). If Milstein does acquire
interest in the Blue Jays, he is "expected to offer"
portions of his stake in the team to Canadian investors via
his business partnership with Toronto broker Edwin Cogan.
It is also rumored that part of the team could eventually be
acquired by Sportsco Int'l since its Chair, Alan Cohen, is a
business associate of Milstein (FINANCIAL POST, 4/24).
DOME RUN FOR 'SPOS? The FINANCIAL POST's Brenda Bouw
reported that Sportsco Int'l "is considering moving" the
Expos into the SkyDome if Labatt decides to move the Blue
Jays out of Toronto. Sportsco Int'l partner Pat Gillick
said that members of his group "have discussed" buying the
Expos. Gillick: "Any time something like that (a change in
ownership) comes up, you always say if anything like that
did happen, even if it is remote, we would have to look for
another tenant" (FINANCIAL POST, 4/23).
