N.Y. Times Co. Looking To Sell Its Stake In Red Sox, Fenway Park
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Times Co. Paid $75M For Stake In New England
Sports Ventures, Which Includes Red Sox, Fenway |
N.Y. Times Co., seeking to "fortify its core assets," is "actively shopping" its 17.5% stake in New England Sports Ventures (NESV), which owns the Red Sox, Fenway Park and 80% of NESN, according to sources cited by Russell Adams of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Times Co. "pushed discussions beyond the exploration phase early last month at a quarterly meeting of NESV's limited partners, at which the company indicated to the partnership its intention to sell." Sources said that Times Co. since then has been "pursuing potential buyers." Barclays Capital has pegged the 17.5% stake at about $166M. Times Co. paid $75M for its investment in NESV when Red Sox Owner John Henry purchased the team for $700M in '02, and the company is "said to be seeking" about $300M for the stake. Adams reported it is is possible the Boston Globe "could be packaged with the sports assets in a sale," and a source indicated that Times Co. and the Red Sox have reached out to Hill Holiday co-Founder Jack Connors to "gauge his interest in acquiring the NESV stake and possibly the Globe" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/26).
WHAT'S IT WORTH TO YOU? The FINANCIAL TIMES' Kenneth Li cited a source who said that Times Co. "could attract bids worth" $200-225M. The company's latest overtures of selling its stake have "piqued the interest of a group of wealthy Boston business leaders, who have also discussed other broader scenarios to improve the state of local media." Times Co. "faces a cash shortage next May when a $400[M] credit facility matures and revenue from continuing operations falls amid a severe advertising decline that has ravaged" U.S. publishing companies (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/27). Smith College sports economist Andrew Zimbalist said that potential buyers of Times Co.'s stake can "expect to pay a lot less that they would have a year ago." Zimbalist: "Whatever the value was a year ago for a share of the Sox, you're looking at a value that's diminished by 15[%]." Zimbalist indicated that Times Co. is "likely to fetch between" $150-170M for its stake (BOSTON HERALD, 12/27).
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