Braley Wants to Sell Lions

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Hambone
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If the Riders can be used as an example the idea of purchasing shares may not be that lucrative. In the notoriously rabid Rider market where just about anything associated with the Riders is quickly gobbled up they have not been as easy a sell as one would expect. They offer a Class A share at $250 each which gives the holder voting rights for things like BOD members. They also offer a Class B share which is more or less ceremonial having no voting rights. I'm not sure what they cost. They've had 4 offerings going back to 2004 when Series I was first offered. As of fiscal year end March 2019 they had sold a total of 11639 Class A shares and 435 Class B shares over the 15 years going back to 2004. It took from 2004 into 2008 to sell out the initial release of 6000 Series Class A shares. Series II was released in 2010 in honour of their 100th season. Then there was the 1989 Series III shares issued around 2014 to commemorate the 1989 GC Champs. They are now into Series IV which was first offered in 2017. They are not sold out yet and remain available today. https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/saskri ... 1596319167
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Reg18 wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 6:00 pm
I like the kdeas of the woodall Keith group with one change. After they buy the lions foit 1$ then they should sell half the shares at 100$ each to fans and we could end up a community owned team with a rabid fan base of owners. That would stoke community interest big time. The generated public enthusiasm would enable the big shareholders to recoup their investment quickly. Lets fill the dome again!
That would be nice.
unfortunately, the cfl is going to control who gets the team. Who/whomever has the biggest net worth and can ride the bad years with good years is going to be approved. That is what they did in montreal, sold it to group with biggest bank account. Same in toronto- MLSE. same in ottawa - Greenbergs are among wealthiest families in canada.


Look at whitecaps, their ownership has deep pockets. broke-even in early years, then the C$ fell and they started losing $3-$5 million a year. They continued to fund the team. Last year, they reportly lost over $30 million with no revenue and playing in US. Still writing cheques. Probably the same this year.
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Hambone
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Qman wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:50 pm
Reg18 wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 6:00 pm
I like the kdeas of the woodall Keith group with one change. After they buy the lions foit 1$ then they should sell half the shares at 100$ each to fans and we could end up a community owned team with a rabid fan base of owners. That would stoke community interest big time. The generated public enthusiasm would enable the big shareholders to recoup their investment quickly. Lets fill the dome again!
That would be nice.
unfortunately, the cfl is going to control who gets the team. Who/whomever has the biggest net worth and can ride the bad years with good years is going to be approved. That is what they did in montreal, sold it to group with biggest bank account. Same in toronto- MLSE. same in ottawa - Greenbergs are among wealthiest families in canada.


Look at whitecaps, their ownership has deep pockets. broke-even in early years, then the C$ fell and they started losing $3-$5 million a year. They continued to fund the team. Last year, they reportly lost over $30 million with no revenue and playing in US. Still writing cheques. Probably the same this year.
I don't think the CFL does that much to control who gets the team until things get to the closing stages when they will apply their due diligence before the BOG votes to approve the sale. They often will be aware of parties who might be interested in ownership and connect them with whomever might be thinking of selling. Size of bank account may help a prospective buyer's case but it's only one of many factors, and not necessarily the most important, in determining the best party to become a new business partner for the league.
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maxlion
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The "nest egg" set aside for the Lions likely exceeds the value of the franchise, especially now. I suspect that the estate would be very pleased to sell the franchise for $1 today if they could recoup the money set aside for operating the franchise. The only other option is to watch that money disappear and then be faced with a situation like in Montreal where you either have to start using your own money or else just walk away.
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David
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In most cases, I would agree with you maxlion. However, Braley's family knows how much the club meant to David. I don't think they want to sell for $1 just to get rid of a depreciating asset. The money set aside (and I'm hearing it should see them through 2-3 years of operation) is to find the right buyer at the right time. Sure, they are likely bleeding red ink keeping the franchise afloat with little revenue coming in, but I really don't think they are in a hurry to sell. Their main interest is in the survival of the franchise...and that would include getting it into the right hands.

I think it's more a case of the potential buyers waiting for some certainty around the league's future, let alone the football club.

DH :cool:
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Hambone
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David wrote:
Thu Feb 25, 2021 6:06 pm
In most cases, I would agree with you maxlion. However, Braley's family knows how much the club meant to David. I don't think they want to sell for $1 just to get rid of a depreciating asset. The money set aside (and I'm hearing it should see them through 2-3 years of operation) is to find the right buyer at the right time. Sure, they are likely bleeding red ink keeping the franchise afloat with little revenue coming in, but I really don't think they are in a hurry to sell. Their main interest is in the survival of the franchise...and that would include getting it into the right hands.

I think it's more a case of the potential buyers waiting for some certainty around the league's future, let alone the football club.

DH :cool:
I'm with you 100% on all of that. The Lions were a part of nearly 1/3 of Braley's life and thus a huge part of the rest of his family's life. He made it abundantly clear in the later stages of his life that getting the team into the right hands was far more important than selling it to the highest bidder. I'd like to think the family/estate will want to do right by David by being patient to live up to his wishes as best they can as opposed to simply dumping the team for the sake of getting rid of it. It's certainly not like they will need whatever price it fetches will make a difference to their future well-being. It will be pocket change in the grand scheme of Braley's estate. I totally agree that any potential buyers will want to see certainty about the league before any deal can possibly be closed.
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maxlion
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Hambone and David, I hope that you are right, and I certainly don't have any information that would suggest otherwise. But it's not hard to see how this situation could go sideways--all it takes is one or two disgruntled people. If forced to choose between blood, money, and the Lions, I don't like the Lions' odds.
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Hambone
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maxlion wrote:
Thu Feb 25, 2021 8:39 pm
Hambone and David, I hope that you are right, and I certainly don't have any information that would suggest otherwise. But it's not hard to see how this situation could go sideways--all it takes is one or two disgruntled people. If forced to choose between blood, money, and the Lions, I don't like the Lions' odds.
Maybe not the complete answer you're looking for but this might ease your mind at least for the immediate future being this year:

Lions officials have confirmed that the Braley estate will guarantee the operations of the BC Lions football club for 2021 - whether or not there is a CFL season. However, the future of the team beyond that point (including the selection of a new ownership group to sell to) remains unclear at this point.

https://biv.com/article/2020/10/bc-lion ... raley-dies

Maybe that fits my own personal narrative as I'm of the belief that if there is no 2021 season it's highly unlikely there will be a CFL left to play in 2022. With that in mind it would appear the estate isn't about to make any rash decisions regarding the club until whenever a 2021 season would be concluded. At that point everybody, including prospective buyers, will know if the CFL will be viable for 2022. If it is the process of selling should be back on track. If the CFL isn't viable for 2022 then selling the team is a moot point.
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David
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Farhan reporting that the Woodall/Keith group are out as potential suitors for the Lions. They may have looked at the books and decided that the debt (especially with limited revenue these past couple of seasons) was too much to absorb if they were to purchase from the Braley estate. Or simply that times change and it was time to move on after years of rejection. :sigh:



DH :cool:
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SammyGreene
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David wrote:
Mon May 17, 2021 1:03 pm
Farhan reporting that the Woodall/Keith group are out as potential suitors for the Lions. They may have looked at the books and decided that the debt (especially with limited revenue these past couple of seasons) was too much to absorb if they were to purchase from the Braley estate. Or simply that times change and it was time to move on after years of rejection. :sigh:



DH :cool:
Wonderful! Wealthy charter members of the Waterboys, who suppose to bleed orange, are now saying no thanks while Alouettes were earlier sold to 89-year-old and 65-year-old Ontario businessmen after being on the block forever.
Even throw in Francesco saying “not interested at this time” when he paid tribute to Brayley’s passing via Twitter.

No wonder Ambrosie is seeking this XFL partnership/merger.
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DanoT
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Not enough billionaire football fans willing to over pay for the Lions.
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David
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One name I would pay attention to is Robert Bosa of Bosa Ventures, an extremely deep-pocketed local real estate developer. I don't know his or his family's current level of interest in owning the Lions, but he certainly has the financial wherewithal to run a CFL franchise in the country's second-largest English-speaking market.

Bosa Construction has quietly been tied to the Leos for some time through sponsorships. Robert Bosa was rumoured to have been a suitor at one time when the club's value was at its highest. https://thebreaker.news/news/six-suitor ... up-champs/

Aquilini is out as we know (and they're carefully minding the purse strings of the Canucks amid the pandemic). David Sidoo is laying low after the college admissions scandal. There just aren't many well-healed locals that are a good fit for the club. The uncertainty regarding the league's direction just adds an extra layer of complexity.


DH :cool:
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David wrote:
Mon May 17, 2021 1:03 pm
Farhan reporting that the Woodall/Keith group are out as potential suitors for the Lions. They may have looked at the books and decided that the debt (especially with limited revenue these past couple of seasons) was too much to absorb if they were to purchase from the Braley estate. Or simply that times change and it was time to move on after years of rejection. :sigh:



DH :cool:
I can't count how many times I've read of the Woodall/Keith group growing frustrated and bowing out of the bidding. I previously thought it was a sign that Braley was too stubborn but I think it's really just a common negotiating tactic. The longer this drags out, the more the sale price goes down.

Ed Willes wrote this in November 2018:
Woodall and Keith made Braley a formal offer last year in the $14-million range that was rejected. That offer is now off the table, largely because the two businessmen believe the Lions are a diminishing asset.
Ed Willes: Quick sale will help restore Lions' roar, but this tale has old teeth

And Willes wrote this in March 2020:
A local group led by insurance man Mark Woodall and car dealer Moray Keith - who were certainly committed to the Leos and the CFL - tried unsuccessfully to buy the Lions on more than one occasion and eventually grew frustrated by the drawn-out process.

They dropped out last fall.
Ed Willes: It's hard to get excited about the CFL's future when all you see is its past
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Hambone
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I don't honestly believe a sale is even possible until it's an absolute guarantee that the CFL is able to return to operating normally. The estate would have to let it go for literally pennies on the dollar for someone to gamble on that. And of course there's the whole XFL thing. That just creates a whole other set of unknown circumstances for a buyer to consider. If I was considering buying the club I wouldn't be interested in committing without knowing exactly what that might look like.
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Murdoch
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SammyGreene wrote:
Mon May 17, 2021 7:59 pm

Wonderful! Wealthy charter members of the Waterboys, who suppose to bleed orange, are now saying no thanks while Alouettes were earlier sold to 89-year-old and 65-year-old Ontario businessmen after being on the block forever.

No wonder Ambrosie is seeking this XFL partnership/merger.
Similar to the Waterboy attempts at ownership, Eric Lapointe led a strong group of local investors in Montreal and later voiced disappointment with the CFL related to the sale process.

Spiegel was a Braley business associate and Gary Stern is his business partner / son in law.

Toronto has a plan and they like the idea of Vancouver and Montreal being a part of it. It's not about Canadian football imo.
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