The PBA Tour announced today the sale of the league to
former Microsoft VP Chris Peters, RealNetworks Inc. CEO Rob
Glaser and former Starwave Corp. Chair & CEO Mike Slade,
according to Don Clark of the WALL STREET JOURNAL, who notes
that all three "worked together" at Microsoft. Peters will
be named PBA Chair and will hire a CEO, while Mark Gerberich
will remain as Tour commissioner. Peters said that he
"hopes to convert the league from a nonprofit organization
to a for-profit company, which will make it easier for the
group to invest in marketing and other areas." Peters added
that a "key thrust in revitalizing the league will be to
create new connections" between TV broadcasts and the Web.
Clark: "The new buyers may offer stock options to PBA
members, which number nearly 3,000" (WALL STREET JOURNAL,
3/22). In Seattle, Danny O'Neil writes that the PBA Tour
will remain in Akron, OH, but Peters "plans to open" an
office in Seattle "to handle marketing." Peters: "We would
have done this deal if we wouldn't have cared two hoots
about bowling. We see it as an incredible business
opportunity" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/22). In N.Y., Sandomir &
Williams put the sale price at $5M and write that the deal
will "prepare the league for a future in cyberspace."
Peters: "The tech play is combining the TV and the
Internet." Sandomir & Williams report that as part of the
deal, the buyers "took control of the national, senior and
regional tours, as well as the logos, copyrights and Web
site, which gets 500,000 visits a month" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/22).
