Rogers purchases Bell's stake in the Toronto Maple Leafs for billions of dollars
Today was a monumental day for both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors. In fact, it is a huge day for all teams under the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment banner.
We say that because according to Sportico's Scott Soshnick, Rogers has purchased Bell's stake in MLSE. Bell previously owned 37.5 percent of the company. Now, Rogers will own that stake. As for the price? It cost Rogers $4.7 billion to make this happen. For those with calculators at home, that is $3.5 billion in USD.
Rogers already had 37.5 percent of the company, so with a doubling of their stake, they now own 75 percent of MLSE. This is a massive takeover and many are wondering what this will mean for all of the MLSE teams, moving forward.
For those who may not know, the Maple Leaf Sport & Entertainment company is the banner conglomerate that controls the Maple Leafs, the Raptors, Toronto FC, the Toronto Marlies, the Raptors' farm team, and even the Raptors' eSports team. They also control the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
Rogers and Bell are two companies that have had monopolies on Canada's communications whether it be internet or phone lines. Now, Rogers is close to a full takeover of Toronto's biggest sports teams. Only time will tell whether or not they try to gain 100 percent equity for themselves.
Only time will tell whether or not this proves to be a huge change for the franchises under MLSE's reign. Stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world.
Source: Sportico
MLSE Rogers Sale
| POLL | ||
Do you feel like Rogers and Bell have too much of a monopoly on communications in Canada? | ||
| YES | 37 | 90.2 % |
| NO | 4 | 9.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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