After announcing the sale of its NHL and NBA franchises Monday, AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL) revealed Tuesday that it would sell the teams to an investment group that includes Boston businessman Steve Belkin and Ted Turner's son-in-law, J. Rutherford Seydel II.
The roughly $250-million deal includes the assumption of debt, the Atlanta Thrashers hockey franchise, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, and the operating rights to the $213 million Philips Arena where both teams play. The deal leaves TBS with 15% ownership of the group, called Atlanta Spirit.
These assets bled roughly $50 million in cash last year.
Belkin, who last year lost out on a bid for an NBA expansion team in Charlotte, leads the group. Other members include a Hawks executive and his son, a pair of former minority owners of the NBA's Washington Bullets (now Wizards) and the NHL's Washington Capitals, a Washington businessman, and a member of the Hawks board of directors.
The announcement caps an interesting turn of events. In April, AOL and Dallas businessman David McDavid entered exclusive negotiations for the teams and the operating rights to Philips Arena. The sale was expected to be completed in June at somewhere between $350 million and $400 million.
AOL's sale is the latest in an effort to pare down the company's $24 billion or so in debt. The company gains some cash and divests itself of several non-core assets. At the same time, AOL still owns outright the Atlanta Braves, by far the most valuable of the three teams.
Accross the table, Atlanta Spirit inherits a barebones Atlanta Hawks team which has no hope today but some flexibility for the future. But the group also gains a promising Atlanta Thrashers franchise with several core assets (players).
You can reach Jeff Hwang at [email protected] .
