SportsLine.com "has agreed in principle" to buy Total
Sports in a stock deal valued at "more than" $300M,
according to "several industry sources" cited by Noah
Liberman of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, who notes that the
acquisition would include "unmatched ties to NCAA
championship events and major schools and conferences," as
well as "broad ties to the PGA Tour and, at least for the
next two seasons," MLB. Sources say that Total Sports "had
been entertaining serious offers since the first of the
year" and met with ESPN Internet Group, Paul Allen's Vulcan
Ventures, Quokka Sports, IMG's TWIinteractive and CNN/SI's
Time Warner. Sources add that the final bids "of SportsLine
and Quokka were identical, but SportsLine's was accepted on
the strength of the company's higher profile and in the
belief that its stock is stronger and has more long-term
value." SportsLine President Mark Mariani and Total Sports
President George Schlukbier "denied the reports" of a deal,
and execs at Quokka "wouldn't comment." The deal is
"expected to be completed by the end of the month but
apparently requires input from some of the companies'
partners, such as CBS, which owns roughly one-sixth of
SportsLine" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/27). Meanwhile, NBC
holds an 8% stake in Total Sports (THE DAILY).
OTHER ONLINE IPOS ON HOLD? BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton
writes that the deal "could be concluded this week" and
notes that Total Sports would bring "considerable (for the
Net) history and journalistic credibility" to SportsLine.
The deal comes as Total Sports had been planning an IPO, and
Lefton adds that "fellow sports site producer Rivals.com and
competitor Broadband Sports have been readying IPOs, but may
pull those back" (BRANDWEEK, 3/27 issue).
