NHL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES SALE OF OILERS TO LOCAL INVESTORS

          The sale of the NHL Oilers to the Edmonton Investors
     Group LP was approved unanimously by the NHL Board of
     Governors yesterday.  Final closing of the sale remains
     subject to further documentation satisfactory to NHL 
     Commissioner Gary Bettman and league counsel (NHL).  In
     Edmonton, Stock & MacDonald report that the local investors
     must pay the US$65M balance on the US$70M deal to acquire
     the team on May 5.  Just "over half" of that amount has been
     raised; the remainder will be borrowed.  The group "will now
     move to keep key personnel," such as President/GM Glen
     Sather (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 4/28).  The local buyers now have
     31 people in their group, including three new investors
     (Terry Jones, EDMONTON SUN, 4/28).  The trio of new
     investors are pilot Don Hamilton, "trucking magnate" Simon
     Sochatsky and "oilpatch tycoon" Wally Kuchar.  The latter
     two put up C$1M each (Bernard Pilon, EDMONTON SUN, 4/28).