Initial bids are due Friday for AEG, financial sources said. AEG announced in September it was putting itself up for sale, and hired Blackstone Group to run the auction. A spokesperson for Blackstone declined comment; an AEG spokesperson did not return calls seeking comment. Blackstone in October sent to potential buyers a roughly 25-page summary, in the business known as a teaser, that many financial sources roundly mocked as “the picture book” for containing more photos than info. But a second, more in-depth prospectus went out around Thanksgiving, sources said. This one was over 150 pages and contained significant financial information on the sports and entertainment company. It is unclear how many rounds of bidding Blackstone plans, though one of the financial sources said it was their sense the investment firm was trying to hurry the process (Daniel Kaplan, SportsBusiness Journal).
MAN OF THE HOUR: In L.A., Bill Plaschke profiles AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke and called him the “most powerful man in Los Angeles sports.” Leiweke is “essentially Hollywood's athletic director, yet there is little glitz on his rolled-up sleeves, and no glitter in his homespun touch.” He is “the greatest asset of a company on the verge of being sold for several billion dollars in the biggest sports transaction in Los Angeles history.” Leiweke this year has “enjoyed perhaps the greatest year ever” for an L.A. sports exec. He is the “first boss in this city's history to oversee two league championships in the same calendar year" with the NHL Kings and MLS Galaxy. Football is “perhaps Leiweke’s greatest challenge yet,” as he has “taken plenty of grief for his attempts to bring the NFL back” to L.A. at AEG's proposed Farmers Field. Leiweke said, “I want to finish football. There's a lot of people betting on us, and I want to get it done. Maybe we're even talking two teams” (L.A. TIMES, 12/5).
