Donald Sturm said yesterday that his $461M deal to
acquire the Nuggets, Avalanche and Pepsi Center "is still
on, despite angry rhetoric and threats of lawsuits" from
Ascent Entertainment Group, according to Al Lewis of the
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. Sturm: "We're working very hard on
some things. I'm not concerned with what's been in the
papers." Sturm's statement "surprised" Ascent execs, who
saw the company's stock drop 16.5% Tuesday after a deal
deadline passed on Monday night. Ascent CFO Jim Cronin: "I
have no idea what he is talking about. We had a agreement
that expired. We are out of contract." Lewis writes that
Ascent "hasn't been acting like a company wanting to do a
deal with Sturm." Ascent's largest shareholder, Snyder
Capital Management's Alan Snyder: "If [Sturm] wants to come
back into the deal, I want $461 million on the barrelhead by
tomorrow morning. No concessions" (ROCKY MTN NEWS, 11/17).
FONDLY RECALLING THE LAURIES: In Denver, Woody Paige
puts the "blame" for the failed deal on the "gluttonous
greed" of Ascent's Board of Directors and shareholders.
Paige: "Ascent had perfectly good buyers (Bill and Nancy
Laurie) at a perfectly good price ($400 million) at a
perfectly good time (April). But in the avaricious search
for pie in the sky, Ascent ended up with an imperfect and
bad deal -- no owner, no money, November" (DENVER POST,
11/17). Also in Denver, Adrian Dater reports that "many at
Ascent are furious not only at Sturm but also at" The Bonham
Group Chair Dean Bonham, "who helped scuttle the original
pact with the Lauries to bring Sturm to the table for an
allegedly better deal." One "high-ranking" Ascent member:
"If we had just been able to do the deal with the Lauries,
none of us would be in the mess we're in." Bonham: "I felt
it was the right thing to do at the time, and if you're
asking whether I would do it again, yes I would. It was a
flawed process the first time" (DENVER POST, 11/17). Also
in Denver, Bob Kravitz's "consensus" from talking with top
execs is that Sturm "would have been a dispassionate,
bottom-line owner who would have put a higher priority on
profits than championships" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 11/17).
