Rogers to buy out Bell’s share of MLSE for $4.7B
Global News
Rogers Communications is buying out Bell's 37.5 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports conglomerate.
Rogers Communications Inc. is buying out Bell’s 37.5 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports conglomerate.
Rogers and Bell had held equal shares of MLSE, which owns the NHL Maple Leafs, NBA Raptors, CFL Argonauts, MLS Toronto FC and AHL Marlies.
MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, via his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc., owns a 20 per cent stake in MLSE after selling a five per cent share to OMERS, a Canadian pension fund, in the summer of 2023.
“MLSE is one of the most prestigious sports and entertainment organizations in the world and we’re proud to expand our ownership of these coveted sports teams,” Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said in a statement.
“As Canada’s leading communications and entertainment company, live sports and entertainment are a critical part of our core business strategy.”
Rogers, which owns Sportsnet, already owns Major League Baseball’s Blue Jays and its Rogers Centre home.
The deal, subject to league and regulatory approvals, provides Bell with the opportunity to “renew its existing MLSE broadcast and sponsorship rights long-term at fair market value.” This includes access to content rights for 50 per cent of Maple Leafs regional games and 50 percent of Toronto Raptors games for which MLSE controls the rights.
Rogers said the purchase will not affect its debt leverage “and financing will include private investors.”
Members of Parliament are back in the House of Commons today, where the government is expected to face tough questions about new auditor general reports and the war in Iran.
Two Air Canada pilots are dead after their flight originating from Montreal collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Sunday night.
With more rain in the forecast, crews continue to deal with a mudslide earlier this week that covered a road in Coquitlam in debris, posing risk to Metro Vancouver's water supply.
A former BC Ferries CEO says the Queen of the North sinking remains ‘disturbing’ 20 years later. The ferry struck an island in Wright Sound on March 22, 2006. Two people died.
The 2026 Kraft Hockeyville top two contestants have been named. The winner receives $250,000 for ice rink upgrades, and the runner-up will receive a prize worth about $100,000.
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer scrutinizes federal spending decisions and helps to cost out campaign proposals during elections.
Man’s best friend is proving to be a true lifeline. All across Saskatchewan, service dogs are providing essential, life-changing support every day.
Two days after the first day of spring, parts of Atlantic Canada and Quebec will see another blast of winter with Environment Canada forecasting several centimetres of snow.
UNESCO recognized several Maritime historical groups including the executive director of the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre for their work on the Black Loyalist archive.
Aid shipments are beginning to arrive in Cuba and a Russian oil delivery is expected this month, but fuel shortages remain critical.
Tensions flared as CAQ leadership rivals clashed over Quebec’s “third link” project in the first debate to replace Premier François Legault.
Toronto police have charged a 60-year-old man with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Xian Wei Shao, whose remains were discovered in a north end home last week.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the government has found ways to cut spending by $60 billion but cautions that published spending cuts require important context.