paidContent » boston red sox

NYT says bye bye, Red Sox; sells last Fenway shares

Staci D. Kramer — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:21:09 +0000

The New York Times Co’s long goodbye to the sports business is finally over. The company sold its last shares in Fenway Sports Group, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, the Liverpool Football Club and the bulk of the New England Sports Network, for $63 million in cash. That will show up as an estimated pre-tax gain of about $38 million when this quarter’s results are in.

NYTCo acquired the 17.75 percent stake in what was then New England Sports Ventures, LLC in 2002, spending $75 million for 750 units in the hopes of boosting the Boston Globe. They started to look for buyers during the company’s cash crunch in 2008, looking for roughly $200 million in a tough market, but held out despite pressure to dump them for a smaller return. The company’s been selling them in batches over the past year for $300,000 a unit — a total of $225 million, or three times the original investment. That doesn’t recognize any payments they received or additional investments in the interim.

The company sold 55 percent of the stake for $117 million last July, following a smaller sale.

The investment was controversial from the start, putting reporters at the Boston Globe especially in the difficult position of covering a team owned in part by their parent company. In the interim, the sports group acquired the Liverpool club and 50 percent of NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com user [Christopher Penler].

New York Times Co. Sells 55 Percent of Fenway Stake For $117 Million

Staci D. Kramer — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 01:47:38 +0000

It took The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) longer to find buyers for a substantial part of its stake in the Boston Red Sox than it did to build the metered paywall for NYTimes.com — and it still isn’t done with the Fenway Sports Group. Three buyers are picking up a total of 390 Class B units for $117 million in cash, about $300,000 per unit; the estimated pre-tax gain is approximately $64.0 million, according to an SEC filing late Friday afternoon. The remaining 310 units are still for sale as a single batch or in parts. At the current sale price, the remaining units are worth $93 million.

FSG includes the Red Sox and Fenway Park, Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League; about 80 percent of the New England Sports Network; and 50 percent of Nascar’s Roush Fenway Racing. This seems like a natural for, say, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and company.

The company, which invested about $80 million in New England Sports Ventures, LLC, in 2002 in the hopes of boosting the Boston Globe, was the second-largest equity owner. The combination of the size of the stake and the inability to have much impact on the actual operations made it a tough sell. (Too bad they can’t break one unit into pieces for Red Sox, Liverpool and Nascar fans, maybe throw in the digital all-access package for NYTimes.com.)

The NYTCo hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of its 17.75 percent of FSG in late 2008-early 2009. At the time, the value was estimated at about $166 million with the possibility it could sell for about $200 million. These three sales, combined with a previous sale last year for an undisclosed amount that took the stake to 16.6 percent, validates that thinking and puts the potential sale price north of $200 million.

Investor Group Surprises NYT With Interest In Buying The Boston Globe

Staci D. Kramer — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:29:59 +0000

More than a year after The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) decided the Boston Globe was worth more inside the company than it could make from a sale, a group of investors wants to buy the paper and the rest of the New England Media group. That includes Boston.com and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. For now, though, it looks a lot more like talk than action: NYT spokesman Bob Christie says the company hasn’t received an offer. Would it sell?

The official statement sounds like a no: “We do not comment on rumors of acquisitions or divestitures. The Boston Globe is an important part of The New York Times Company. The Globe has made excellent progress and is on solid financial footing. Its continued digital and print progress signals a strong future.”

But it’s a public company and credible offers have to be considered. It would be a lot easier if the group wanted to buy the Boston asset that is for sale and has been for a year — the company’s holding in Boston Red Sox owner New England Sports Ventures (now also the owner of Liverpool LFC).

Entrepreneur Aaron Kushner told the Globe that he and a dozen or so other investors have formed a group called The 2100 Trust that plans to make a bid that would be attractive. NYTCo acquired the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion. The decision not to sell followed a dramatic showdown with unions resulting in $20 million in cost cuts.

The group’s statement, published in full with the news story at Boston.com late this afternoon, says in part:

“The Boston Globe has been a pillar in the city, the Commonwealth and the region for more than a century. We believe that The Boston Globe’s strongest days can be ahead. It is essential that the Globe be positioned for its next 100 years. This will require the significant long-term investment that we intend to make. One of the principal areas of investment will be the newsroom, which is due for a significant increase.”

They promise to send a letter of intent.

New York Times Co. Could Wind Up With Share Of Liverpool Football Club

Staci D. Kramer — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:30:38 +0000

In the oddest of twists, the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) is on the verge of being part owner of a major UK football club. The publisher still holds nearly 17 percent of New England Sports Ventures, LLC — owner of baseball’s Boston Red Sox and the likely next owner of Liverpool Football Cub. NESV and Liverpool announced a deal today for the Boston sports group to acquire the troubled Premier League football (as in soccer) team from controversial U.S. owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The sale has to be approved by the league and various legal matters have to settled before it can be finalized.

I’ll leave the Liverpool ownership drama to others, like BSkyb, the BBC, and my colleagues at The Guardian.

The sports company also owns Fenway Park, 80 percent of the New England Sports Network, and a stake in Nascar’s Roush team.

The NYT started formal efforts to sell its stake last year and sold 1.2 percent in April. From this side of the pond, it’s hard to see how acquiring a team deep in debt, despite its passionate fan base, will make it any easier for the NYT to sell the rest of its stake in NESV. Maybe they can sell some units to Liverpool fans.