Final bids for the XFL's assets are due by July 6 under the original schedule, with letters of intent due June 12ESPN IMAGES
In arguing for a quick sale, the XFL's investment bank Houlihan Lokey says it is in "active conversations with dozens of potential purchasers of the league." Houlihan Lokey Managing Dir William H. Hardie III said 20 possible buyers had executed non-disclosure agreements tied to deep due diligence about a purchase, and another six were preparing those documents. He said all of them want to run an XFL season in '21, lending urgency to the sales process. Final bids for the XFL's assets are due by July 6 under the original schedule, with letters of intent due June 12. XFL Founder Vince McMahon said under oath that he has no intention of buying back the league out of bankruptcy as some creditors alleged last week, but he confirmed he had been considering it and only made up his mind after the creditors went public with their suspicion. Last week, a committee of XFL creditors accused McMahon of setting up the entire bankruptcy to facilitate a plan for him to re-acquire the league at a bargain-basement price, free of liabilities such as staff and coach salaries and venue deals (Ben Fischer, THE DAILY).
REASON FOR STEPPING ASIDE: McMahon in the deposition said, "I don't know why that's out there, making me out to be the bad guy, (that) I'm going to buy the XFL back for pennies on the dollar, basically. That helped me move into the direction of, 'I'm not going to be a bidder, not going to have anything to do with it.'" ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert noted in the filing, McMahon's lawyers wrote that McMahon put in "at least" $200M of his own money into the XFL. The attorneys wrote, "Accordingly, all that the committee has managed to do ... is to chase away a potentially significant bidder for the debtor's assets" (ESPN.com, 5/26).
