Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After the Buffalo Bills announced back in April the organization was exploring the potential sale of a minority, non-controlling stake in the team, the National Football League approved on Wednesday a new minority ownership group that consists of 10 limited partners.
While the terms of the stakes each party will have in the minority ownership were not disclosed on Wednesday, a report from Sports Business Journal last month indicated that the private investment firm Arctos will take 10% of the team's ownership. Meanwhile, the total percentages of ownership with the 10 limited partners is reported to make up 20.6%.
Related
John Cimperman from Barnstorm Sports and Entertainment looks at the addition of the minority ownership group to the Bills as a positive not just for the organization, but also the community.
"The Pegula team can bring in some additional diverse backgrounds, which brings some additional diverse thoughts," said Cimperman in an interview with WBEN. "At the end of the day, having more smart people around the table, I think, is good for the franchise and good for its long-term viability as well."
What Cimperman likes about the group of 10 limited partners in this deal is a lot of the investors have ties to Western New York.
"They understand the marketplace, they understand the fan base, they understand the potential. What was nice to see is even with some of the private equity firms, there was some affinity for Western New York," Cimperman noted.
Cimperman also feels the connections to Southern Ontario with this group is only going to help the Bills organization expand the size of its market even further.
When it comes to former athletes like Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jozy Altidore being part of the minority ownership group, Cimperman believes it's great because they bring different perspectives into the organization.
"Having some former athletes, it adds a little bit more of the sizzle to the organization," Cimperman said. "They've been professional athletes, they have big followings. But these are great names, and I think it's positive that they want to be associated with the Bills."
The Bills are not the only team in the NFL, though, that are finalizing the addition of limited partners. NFL owners also approved Wednesday the minority, non-controlling interest sales involving the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.
Cimperman points out that the values of these teams have increased so drastically, even selling a small percentage of the team is probably worth more than what a lot of the majority owners actually purchased the entire team for.
"It gives the owners some liquidity, some cash," Cimperman added. "And I know in the case of the Bills, that infusion of new capital is obviously going to help pay for the Bills' portion of the new stadium. So it provides some liquidity, and again, I think that's obviously a big positive for Terry Pegula, and I just think it offers the Bills and the organization a little bit more financial flexibility."
Cimperman also noted that fans will not see any changes day-to-day with how the Bills operate as an organization.
"Based upon everything and the way this is structured, Terry Pegula has the final say, but it will be nice to have some additional backgrounds and diversity of thought around the table. So I think that's a positive," he said.
The complete list of new limited partners, pending final closing of the agreements, include:
- Arctos: A private investment firm that provides bespoke growth and liquidity solutions, differentiated thought partnership and value creation services to sports franchises;
- Rob Palumbo: Co-managing partner of Accel-KKR, technology-focused private equity firm;
- Sue McCollum: CEO and owner of beverage distribution companies Eagle Brand Sales and Double Eagle Distributing;
- Theresia Gouw: Co-founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Acrew Capital;
- Rob Ward: Co-founder, general partner of venture capital firm Meritech Capital;
- Mike Joo: COO, Global Corporate & Investment Banking and Head of North America Corporate & Investment Banking at Bank of America;
- Tom Burger: Co-founder and managing partner of the investment firm Gridiron Capital;
- Vince Carter: Former NBA player and member of Basketball Hall of Fame;
- Tracy McGrady: Former NBA player and member of Basketball Hall of Fame;
- Jozy Altidore: Former U.S. National Team Soccer Player and MLS champion.