Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi appeared Thursday on CHNL-AM in Kamloops, British Columbia, and "talked about his bid" to buy the Stars, according to Mark Stepneski of ESPN DALLAS. Gaglardi said, "That's a work in progress. It's been going for well over a year. It's a team that I have great interest in and hopefully close to concluding the agreement to acquire the team. But still it will be subject to a long, lengthy court process given the history of the Stars and Rangers credit facilities. Although we might get something done here quickly, it is still a few months away in terms of where we know where this thing lands and who ends up owning the club." On why he wants to purchase the Dallas club, Gaglardi said, "My mother is from there, so I have half my family living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area." He added, "Other than most of the Canadian teams and some original six teams, Dallas, to me, would be in the top six teams personally for me to be involved with. It's now the fourth largest market in America. Huge growth potential and the most valuable franchise in the world [is] headquartered there, the Dallas Cowboys. I think it is a marvelous opportunity in a market that is second to none, and a market that used to lead the NHL in revenue" (ESPNDALLAS.com, 8/11). In Dallas, Mike Heika cites sources as saying Gaglardi is "in New York trying to push through all of the paperwork that needs to be pushed through, and this is a difficult time to do that." Gaglardi and Monarch Investments "already have done their negotiating, and now lawyers for the many lenders and the NHL and the Stars are looking at all of the paperwork." Heika noted the sides are "closer than they were two weeks ago, but nobody really knows when all of the lawyers will be satisfied" (DALLASNEWS.com, 8/11).
ECONOMIC BLUES: The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts noted this week's "turmoil in the stock markets" is causing "much heartburn for those trying to sell NHL franchises." When the "stock market craters, it plays havoc with the net worth of prospective buyers," making it difficult for them "to line up financing, since bankers need little reason to slam the cash drawer shut these days." One investment banker said that there are "two serious bidders for the Blues at best and neither is willing to put up enough cash to even cover the $120-million bank debt the current owners have on the team." Sources indicate that the Blues' "main suitors are two groups led by Blues minority owner Tom Stillman and Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/11).
