All Offers For Buffalo Bills Below $1 Billion

[SpikedLemonade]

As of right now the three groups that I have confirmed with sources as having submitted bids for the Buffalo Bills have offered less than $1 billion for the NFL team.

Donald Trump (http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/) has offered in the mid-$800 million territory, and Terry Pegula and Bon Jovi (http://www.forbes.com/profile/bon-jovi/) have both offered well under $1 billion, according to sources familiar withe the bids.

What an embarrassment for the NFL and the investment bank hired by the estate of the late Ralph Wilson to sell the football team. After all, the last small-market NFL team to change hands, the Cleveland Browns, went for $987 million–over two years ago!

Morgan Stanley (http://www.forbes.com/companies/morgan-stanley/) has butchered the sales process and shame on the NFL for handing the inexperienced sports banker (lone sports sale: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment) the deal. The bank is now clearly in panic mode. After only three candidates out of over 60 to submit non-disclosure agreements to Morgan Stanley submitted non-binding initial bids by the July 29 deadline, it extended the deadline.

Some reports now have Tom Golisano submitting a bid. (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11324167/former-buffalo-sabres-owner-tom-golisano-entered-running-purchase-buffalo-bills) Maybe he has. But there were also previous reports of how Pegula had offered $1.3 billion (http://news.wbfo.org/post/report-pegula-submits-initial-13-billion-bills-bid) for the Bills, which was false. And then Al Michaels said on national television that Trump told him he had offered $1 billion for the team–also false (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/08/06/donald-trump-offers-less-than-900-million-for-buffalo-bills/). And there was my criminal-like prediction (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/07/16/value-of-buffalo-bills-depends-on-teams-location-in-2020/) that the Bon Jovi group, which includes MLS&E (http://www.mlse.com/) owners Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family, would offer $1.2 billion (though my readers were at least the first to know that the Bills revenue and operating income were $250 million and $38 million (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/07/25/buffalo-bills-sale-for-1-2-billion-would-value-team-like-facebook/), respectively, last season).

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell better get a handle on this thing before it gets even worse.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/08/10/all-offers-for-buffalo-bills-below-1-billion/


(http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/08/10/all-offers-for-buffalo-bills-below-1-billion/)

[SpikedLemonade]

Those wondering why Pegula's non-binding offer of $1.3B did not scare off other bidders and wasn't enough to seal the deal now know why.

It never happened.

[Skooby]

Many mixed messages have been sent, so I'll believe it when I see it. I personally think they have just targeted a few potential buyers & not performed this sham auction.

[SpikedLemonade]

Many mixed messages have been sent.

Sure, but this would explain why the initial bid deadline was extended and why there is now suddenly 8 bidders receiving a presentation from the Bills last week, this week and the week after.

This isn't going well.

[SpikedLemonade]

@ByTimGraham: Another in-the-know source today echoed what I tweeted last week: The reported $1.3 billion Pegula bid waaaaaaay off. Actual bid much lower.

[Skooby]

Sure, but this would explain why the initial bid deadline was extended and why there is now suddenly 8 bidders receiving a presentation from the Bills last week, this week and the week after.

This isn't going well.

Whoever says that there's 8 bidders is so full of crap it's unreal. You automatically discount half the people you're dealing with as tire kickers, knowing there's no way that they will bid. These "bidders" are potential buyers & until you have something signed with hard money down, you have a potential buyer / not a bidder. Unsecured bids are letters of intent, complete toilet paper.

[BertSquirtgum]

Those wondering why Pegula's non-binding offer of $1.3B did not scare off other bidders and wasn't enough to seal the deal now know why.

It never happened.

Good to know you're still a worthless Canadian.

[Dr. Lecter]

When I see a series of conflicting stories like this I always wonder - who are the sources? Why are they leaking the information?

Is one right? Are all wrong?

[Dr. Lecter]

Good to know you're still a worthless Canadian.

Why? he posted a story that disagrees with what you want to be true?

[BertSquirtgum]

Why? he posted a story that disagrees with what you want to be true?

No because he is pure negativity.

[Meathead]

get your bid in before midnight and morgan stanley will throw in absolutely free this beautiful and eminently respectful president obama chia hair plus only nine ninety nine shipping and handling

[Meathead]

morgan stanley announces official bills team sale theme song

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</object><br/>
<a href="http://www.hark.com/clips/zkwhcvqqzb-circus-music" style="font-size: 9px; color: #ddd;" title="Listen to on Hark.com"></a>

[YardRat]

It would be nice to know some of the truth. It does make a little bit of sense that the process move forward, and look for more bidders and more money if the bids were that low. Of course, it also makes sense that if Pegs did bid that high, the process move on and MS stated 'OK, the bar is set...Anybody else want in?'. What doesn't make sense, specifically regarding this author and this article, is he insinuates that JBJ's bid was well under a billion, but Trump's was even lower....and yet, it's been widely reported that JBJ's group has been asked to re-submit, yet Trump hasn't. That doesn't add up. Finally, I have a problem lending credibility to any 'reporter' that uses 'I', 'me', 'my' so much. It reeks of 'don't worry if what I'm writing is the truth, just look at me'.

[stuckincincy]

get your bid in before midnight and morgan stanley will throw in absolutely free this beautiful and eminently respectful president obama chia hair plus only nine ninety nine shipping and handling

No autographed versions. He's on another vacation.

[tampabay25690]

No because he is pure negativity.

So is most on this site these days!!!

[Ed]

This may not be going well for Morgan Stanley or Mary Wilson, but all this means to me is that Pegula is going to end up getting the team for less than what a lot of people expected. More money in Pegula's pocket should mean more money that can be invested in the team and the Buffalo area. Whether Mary Wilson gets $900 million or $1.5 billion is irrelevant to me. As a fan I'd rather see the new owner come out a winner and I still don't have any reason to believe that it won't be Terry Pegula.

[BillsImpossible]

Winning the media battle is half the battle.

Bon Jovi's letter to the Buffalo News was horrible PR.

The heavily reported, "$1.3 billion bid," was a huge PR win for Terry Pegula even if the report was false.

Donald Trump is a PR nightmare.

Jim Kelly just allied himself with local billionaire, Jeffrey Gundlach and the media acts like they didn't hear that.

What's really going on?

[cookie G]

It would be nice to know some of the truth. It does make a little bit of sense that the process move forward, and look for more bidders and more money if the bids were that low. Of course, it also makes sense that if Pegs did bid that high, the process move on and MS stated 'OK, the bar is set...Anybody else want in?'. What doesn't make sense, specifically regarding this author and this article, is he insinuates that JBJ's bid was well under a billion, but Trump's was even lower....and yet, it's been widely reported that JBJ's group has been asked to re-submit, yet Trump hasn't. That doesn't add up. Finally, I have a problem lending credibility to any 'reporter' that uses 'I', 'me', 'my' so much. It reeks of 'don't worry if what I'm writing is the truth, just look at me'.

Well, this is the same guy that wrote the article saying that the Bills should be bought by someone who will move them to LA or Toronto. He's also the same guy who claimed the sale process was becoming a circus.

Few bidders= no interest in the Bills.
More bidders= a circus.

I take it with a grain of salt.

But I do take pleasure in watching the washed up rocker's bid rejected twice, due to the fact that he and his group have been trying to lie their way through the process.

[Skooby]

Well, this is the same guy that wrote the article saying that the Bills should be bought by someone who will move them to LA or Toronto. He's also the same guy who claimed the sale process was becoming a circus.

Few bidders= no interest in the Bills.
More bidders= a circus.

I take it with a grain of salt.

But I do take pleasure in watching the washed up rocker's bid rejected twice, due to the fact that he and his group have been trying to lie their way through the process.

Their search for stadium sites around Toronto is about as big of a smoking gun as there ever will be. I also think that the trust / MS is purposely playing with them & using them to try to raise the price, knowing they will never be able to buy the team.

[The Jokeman]

Whoever says that there's 8 bidders is so full of crap it's unreal. You automatically discount half the people you're dealing with as tire kickers, knowing there's no way that they will bid. These "bidders" are potential buyers & until you have something signed with hard money down, you have a potential buyer / not a bidder. Unsecured bids are letters of intent, complete toilet paper.

Learn one thing, the NFL and it's policies are for one reason and one reason. To get people talking about and hopefully watching and/or buying into the NFL.

[The Jokeman]

When I see a series of conflicting stories like this I always wonder - who are the sources? Why are they leaking the information?

Is one right? Are all wrong?

I think it's a lack of real reporting. As most reporters to me these days feel like talking heads that or just want to spin a story into something they want to make a story about. As say what you want about the current information/communication age but it sucks because it's all subject to interpretation and/or someone is in a rush to be the first one to "break" a story. Though the worst is the copying of someone elses thought and acting like it's your own without verifying it.

[SpikedLemonade]

I believe Tim Graham in this because he has been on this the most and he admits the early bid numbers were way wrong high.

See above.

[Fletch]

Sure, but this would explain why the initial bid deadline was extended and why there is now suddenly 8 bidders receiving a presentation from the Bills last week, this week and the week after.

This isn't going well.

No, that's not true. Posters at Billszone have stated otherwise, clearly they know more than anyone else.

It's going great. These new reports clearly can't be correct. People here are never wrong when it's a majority opinion.

[BertSquirtgum]

You guys are pathetic. Two trolls in a pod.

[Skooby]

No, that's not true. Posters at Billszone have stated otherwise, clearly they know more than anyone else.

It's going great. These new reports clearly can't be correct. People here are never wrong when it's a majority opinion.

When you don't have enough information to make a statement, it's a guess. No one here knows for sure what's been offered by every party & because it's non-binding, whatever was offered isn't really relevant anyways. Hard money down with a written contract, now we're going somewhere.

[DynaPaul]

Whoever wins has to budget for a new stadium as well and that's probably why the bids are lower than expected.

[Fletch]

You guys are pathetic. Two trolls in a pod.

LOL

You're busy setting a record here, there's still room for another brain besides your in that walnut shell.

[Fletch]

When you don't have enough information to make a statement, it's a guess. No one here knows for sure what's been offered by every party & because it's non-binding, whatever was offered isn't really relevant anyways. Hard money down with a written contract, now we're going somewhere.

Everything's a guess at this point, including just about everything put out as facts here. I'm one of the few people that has taken the stance that just about everything we've heard is nothing but conjecture and rumor, which of course it is.

One of the few things for sure is that the sale of this team is being managed the same way that the team has been. How fitting and ironic.

I mean all we hear for over a decade is how Wilson's done all he can to keep the team in Buffalo, clearly a lie since he could have sold it to do so but chose not to. Now the process is doing anything but providing reassurances that there's any kind of hitch in the proceedings to keep the team around except for gratuitous statements by bidders to feign doing so.

Meanwhile, the trust and huge global bank entrusted with running this sale are now backtracking because the things that they've done haven't come close to the desired results in terms of having generated bidder interest.

The latest little tidbit that Pegula hasn't opened his wallet nearly as much as many here have insisted that he did seems to have dampened the prospects of him winning as well. There's also no evidence as of yet that he's willing to overpay as many here have suggested, or that he's not equally in it as a business decision as other bidders are.

Either way, inviting more bidders definitely isn't heartwarming when Pegula seemed to have been the logical choice to win when it was only the rumored three bidders.

The viability of the team remaining here under any owner is going to hinge upon that new stadium being built. But where's that money coming from. Cuomo's kicking the dog on that one, Erie County is broke and even if it can scrape something together it won't be a relevant amount, the NFL potentially has $200M to offer in financing, but will the league and its owners decide that the weakest market in football is worth it over relocating the team? Who knows, but most of these owners don't care where the team is other than that it makes them the most money.

Getting back to the original point, this whole thing has developed into a typical Bills-like circus with statements being made that simply don't come close to materializing. It's maddening, disgusting, and aggravating. You'd think that this organization can get something major right once in a while. I guess not.

The best thing that could possibly have happened to this team was a new owner years ago. Better late than never I suppose, but still, depends upon who the new owner is. The first order of business should be installing a competent administration. Cut every piece of old blood out like the cancer that it's become.

[GreedoII]

Leave it to Ralph cronies botching this like they have for 40 yrs....

[Fletch]

Leave it to Ralph cronies botching this like they have for 40 yrs....

No siht.

It's unbelievable.

[sukie]

Cleveland selling for just under a billion 2 years ago doesn't make a sub billion bid for the Bills an embarrassment. Cleveland plays in a newer facility

[Goobylal]

Good. The cheaper Pegs can get the team for, the better.

[Goobylal]

And frankly, I couldn't care less about how much money Ralph's (fortunate) heirs get from the sale of the team, or if it sells for a record price, or how the whole process appears. All I care about is 3 things: a) that the team stays in Buffalo, b) that the team stays in Buffalo, and c) that the team stays in Buffalo. And those look all but certain at this point, so all that's left to do is agree on a price to sell to Pegs and get on with it.

[The King]

Who knows what the legal jargon is in these bids. It could read up-to 1.3B or something to that effect, we (the general public) have no way of understanding the type of speak that involves hundreds of millions of dollars.

Maybe the bid includes bid for the team and money allocated to the stadium? Who the hell knows.

[stuckincincy]

Who knows what the legal jargon is in these bids. It could read up-to 1.3B or something to that effect, we (the general public) have no way of understanding the type of speak that involves hundreds of millions of dollars.

Maybe the bid includes bid for the team and money allocated to the stadium? Who the hell knows.

The wrangle is about who can come up with the best plan to extract the most amount of $ from the buying public, and who has the cleverest plan to pluck cash from the wallets from folks who don't give a rat's patoot about football.

That takes time.

[Ginger Vitis]

And frankly, I couldn't care less about how much money Ralph's (fortunate) heirs get from the sale of the team,

Bingo that is what makes Felchs and Spikes obsession with the sale price hilarious and laughable...

[Skooby]

And frankly, I couldn't care less about how much money Ralph's (fortunate) heirs get from the sale of the team, or if it sells for a record price, or how the whole process appears. All I care about is 3 things: a) that the team stays in Buffalo, b) that the team stays in Buffalo, and c) that the team stays in Buffalo. And those look all but certain at this point, so all that's left to do is agree on a price to sell to Pegs and get on with it.



So you just want to see the baby, not the pregnancy.

[Goobylal]

So you just want to see the baby, not the pregnancy.
Yep. Just show me the baby!

[SpikedLemonade]

Cleveland selling for just under a billion 2 years ago doesn't make a sub billion bid for the Bills an embarrassment. Cleveland plays in a newer facility

True.

And Cleveland has done a better job of scrubbing it's downtown **** stain than Buffalo has.

[Dr. Lecter]

Here a question for this guy (actually a few)

Why does he have an actual amount that Trump bid but does not have amounts for Pegula or the Toronto group? He says their bids were "well below" 1 billion. How much is "well below"? Were the bids higher or lower than Trump's bid? Were there contingencies in the bids that could, for example, make Pegula's bid either 900 million or 1.3 billion? Why does he have a lot of detail in some areas and such a small amount of detail in others? Why does he make magical jumps based on what seems to be partial information? What is his reasoning for this? Is the fact that Forbes valued this team at 870 million influencing his writing and acting like nobody wants to spend a billion or more?

[Night Train]

Here a question for this guy (actually a few)

Why does he have an actual amount that Trump bid but does not have amounts for Pegula or the Toronto group? He says their bids were "well below" 1 billion. How much is "well below"? Were the bids higher or lower than Trump's bid? Were there contingencies in the bids that could, for example, make Pegula's bid either 900 million or 1.3 billion? Why does he have a lot of detail in some areas and such a small amount of detail in others? Why does he make magical jumps based on what seems to be partial information? What is his reasoning for this? Is the fact that Forbes valued this team at 870 million influencing his writing and acting like nobody wants to spend a billion or more?

Agreed. Welcome to " Print Anything and they will read it ". 24/7 internet must have material, fact or fiction.

[Famous Amos]

True.

And Cleveland has done a better job of scrubbing it's downtown **** stain than Buffalo has.
Yeah, Cleveland's downtown is definitely nicer than ours. Wheger I'm downtown with my friend, I always ask him, where are the people? There's more pan handlers than pedestrians. Cleveland I believe has more high rises and density in the downtown area. But you know what Spiked, I'd appreciate it if you stopped with the **** stain rhetoric.

[Dr. Lecter]

Yeah, Cleveland's downtown is definitely nicer than ours. Wheger I'm downtown with my friend, I always ask him, where are the people? There's more pan handlers than pedestrians. Cleveland I believe has more high rises and density in the downtown area. But you know what Spiked, I'd appreciate it if you stopped with the **** stain rhetoric.

IT gets a reaction, so he will continue to post it.

[SpikedLemonade]

IT gets a reaction, so he will continue to post it.

Just keeping you on your toes and fanning your civic pride.

I had this whole analogy between a Cleveland Steamer and a Buffalo Dump, but I will save it for a rainy day.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

The word out of Toronto is that the fact not able to move the team within 20 years really hurt the team value. The Wilson family can't have it both ways - way high in value so they lineup their pocket with max money yet do Buffalo a service of keeping the team here within the new buyer's life time.

[Bill Cody]

according to sources familiar withe the bids.



sorry but I'm calling BS here. Anyone can make **** up and there seems to be no end or no limit to what amounts to pure speculation. This is like reading the Star on the way out of the supermarket.

[Bill Cody]

The word out of Toronto

please stop