NY Post reporting Toronto group "serious" about Bills purchase - they've turfed JBJ

[Homegrown]

http://nypost.com/2014/08/29/bon-jov...ing-for-bills/

Jon Bon Jovi has been chucked from the group, The Post has learned.

The rocker and the deep-pocketed Toronto-based sports team owners who are bidding for the Buffalo Bills have parted way, sources close to the situation said Friday.
The remaining entities in the group — Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which controls the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors, and Edward Rogers, chairman of Rogers Communications — believe they are in a stronger position to win the Bills auction without Bon Jovi, sources said.

The New Jersey rocker had led the group, a source close to the situation said. As the lead bidder, Bon Jovi would have been the principal owner and therefore, under NFL rules, would have to put up 30 percent of the purchase price.
With Bon Jovi’s net worth at roughly $300 million, according to sources, the group’s highest bid would have been capped at about $1.1 billion.
With rival bidder Terry Pegula, a fracking billionaire, said to be willing to push a bid toward $1.2 billion or higher, the Toronto group, with Bon Jovi, feared it was bound to lose, sources said.
“Rogers is very serious” about buying the team, another source close to the process said.
There have been recent media reports about the Toronto bid falling apart — but in reality it is reforming, sources said.
Deep-pocketed Donald Trump is still in the bidding, as well. Final bids are due next week.
Morgan Stanley, the investment bank selling the Bills, has been trying to help Bon Jovi find new backers, sources said. Bon Jovi and Tanenbaum spokespeople did not return calls.

[Dr. Lecter]

Tim Graham ‏@ByTimGraham 17m

Two sources in Bills sales process believe Bon Jovi group totally falling apart. They think Tanenbaum/Rogers remaining viable unlikely.

[ServoBillieves]

By "regrouping" and "being serious" they probably meant they didn't want the circus/joke that was JBJ as part of their bidding process. This doesn't magically make 100's of millions of dollars appear, they actually lost a significant amount from him by cutting ties.

[YardRat]

Better chance of moving with Toronto group minus JBJ than with him.

[Night Train]

Better chance of moving with Toronto group minus JBJ than with him.

Starting to sound like zero chance.

[Novacane]

I doubt it. JBJ is the one who really wants to own a team. This sounds like another Morgan Stanley ploy to try and get another couple hundred mill out of Pegula.

[RedEyE]

The sad thing is that JBJ isn't the problem here. The problem is an investment group from Toronto is bidding on the Bills. Fans are not stupid. This group just needs to go the **** away.

[Fletch]

The sad thing is that JBJ isn't the problem here. The problem is an investment group from Toronto is bidding on the Bills. Fans are not stupid. This group just needs to go the **** away.

LOL

Right

[Skooby]

Morgan Stanley's last ditch effort to Milk the Pegula cow, guess where their headquarters are located ??


http://www.morganstanley.com/about/offices/usa.html


Think they have a few friends left in the press there ??

[chris66]

By "regrouping" and "being serious" they probably meant they didn't want the circus/joke that was JBJ as part of their bidding process. This doesn't magically make 100's of millions of dollars appear, they actually lost a significant amount from him by cutting ties.

just the opposite if Rodgers is planning on being principal owner he is worth around 5 billion himself

[OpIv37]

I doubt it. JBJ is the one who really wants to own a team. This sounds like another Morgan Stanley ploy to try and get another couple hundred mill out of Pegula.

The problem is that JBJ saying he wants to own a team is about as meaningful as me saying I want to own a team because neither of us can afford it.

It seems like he was doing everything on his power to try to buy something without having enough money.

[better days]

just the opposite if Rodgers is planning on being principal owner he is worth around 5 billion himself

The problem the Toronto group now faces is not finances, but the known fact that they want to move the team.

The trust is not legally allowed to sell the team to anyone that has intentions of moving it.

[Typ0]

By "regrouping" and "being serious" they probably meant they didn't want the circus/joke that was JBJ as part of their bidding process. This doesn't magically make 100's of millions of dollars appear, they actually lost a significant amount from him by cutting ties.

The thing is they cut ties because of the numbers. JBJ didn't have the $$$ to be the principal owner.

[sudzy]

JBJ become the focus of Bills fans hatred. That might have been Tanenbaum/Rogers plan all along.

[better days]

The thing is they cut ties because of the numbers. JBJ didn't have the $$$ to be the principal owner.

John Kryk of the Toronto Sun is reporting Bon Jovi quit the group, he was not kicked out, for what that is worth.

The end result is the Toronto group can make a higher bid.

But is also well documented that the Toronto group has plans to move the team which should prevent the sale of the Bills to that group.

[ServoBillieves]

The thing is they cut ties because of the numbers. JBJ didn't have the $$$ to be the principal owner.

Yeah was preemptive on my response, makes more sense to kick him.

[OpIv37]

The problem the Toronto group now faces is not finances, but the known fact that they want to move the team.

The trust is not legally allowed to sell the team to anyone that has intentions of moving it.

How do you know that? And how is it legally enforceable if it is true?

Someone would have to sue to stop it.

[TacklingDummy]

JBJ become the focus of Bills fans hatred. That might have been Tanenbaum/Rogers plan all along.

Bon Jovi was probably the only 1 in the group who wanted to keep the team in Buffalo.

[BLeonard]

This is little more than a desperate attempt by Morgan Stanley to get a legit-looking bidding war... The tell for me is in the last paragraph:

Morgan Stanley, the investment bank selling the Bills, has been trying to help Bon Jovi find new backers, sources said.

Finding "new backers" when final bids are supposed to submitted within the next week and a half....?

All this does is make the Toronto group look more like they would want to move the team, albeit while able to potentially bid more, due to not having the constraints of Bon Jovi being the principal owner.

If the Trust was truly concerned about the Toronto group moving the team, all removing Bon Jovi does is escalate those concerns.

-Bill

[Novacane]

Bon Jovi was probably the only 1 in the group who wanted to keep the team in Buffalo.

You could be right. The more I think about it I think he just wants to own a team and doesn't care where they play. To bad he got in bed with the wrong billionaires.