Financing Deal May Breathe New Life Into Senators Sale

The Senators' failed financing deal of 1,358 partnership units "could be resurrected as soon as this summer in a new form," according to Sean McKibbon of the OTTAWA SUN, who notes the original deal called for Covanta Energy to provide up to C$20M to cover a "significant element of commercial risk." Covanta also agreed to guarantee interest payments on a new loan the Senators were planning to take out, and to buy out investors if the team's value dropped significantly. Senators Chair Rod Bryden said that a new deal would be done without the "need for a third party to backstop the deal and mitigate risk for investors." Bryden: "We will probably change the structure of the deal a bit to eliminate the risk." Robbie Manis of Norfolk Capital Partners, one of the two Toronto investment firms handling the sale, said, "We've got new structural ideas so now the lender won't require those guarantees." Manis said that the Senators and Corel Centre "may divvy up revenues differently, giving the team the ability to pay off debt on its own," and added that shares in a new deal "may be offered to investors who are willing to accept more risk and don't need a guaranteed distribution." Manis: "The goal that we have is to have a new deal that stabilizes the team by some time in the summer" (OTTAWA SUN, 5/1).