Forest City Ratner Companies Exec Chair Bruce Ratner's "grip on the Barclays Center is starting to chafe shareholders" of parent company Forest City Enterprises, the majority owner of the two-year-old Brooklyn arena, according to Josh Kosman of the N.Y. POST. Forest City is "expected to kick off an auction this week to sell some or all" of its 55% stake in the arena. But Ratner "insists the best way to boost Barclays Center is to keep the current management lineup -- Ratner and CEO Brett Yormark -- at the helm of the day-to-day operations of the arena." He has "been spreading the word that his preference is to find a 'strategic partner' willing to buy a minority stake." However, selling the entire stake would "make it easier for Forest City to convert to a tax-advantageous real estate investment trust, which could lift its share price." To do so, the company "needs to be generating revenue from real estate activities, not ticket or suite sales as is the case at Barclays." Forest City Enterprises Senior VP/Corporate Communications & Community Relations Jeff Linton said, "We would be happy to ... keep current management in place." A source said of Ratner, "What drives me crazy is Bruce always gets quoted like he’s CEO but he’s not" (N.Y. POST, 11/3).
