Zolak and Bertrand: Could FSG Still Be In Play to Buy The Celtics?
On Monday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, the guys reacted to a new story that details the reason behind the Grousbeck family making the decision to sell their majority stake in the Boston Celtics. This led to Scott Zolak, Marc Bertrand, and Tim McKone discussing whether or not FSG(Fenway Sports Group-which is led by John Henry) would be interested in buying the team due to the price not being as expensive as many first thought.
Watch It Here!
“Don’t Rule Them Out…”
Bertrand: So I read this and I thought, Fenway Sports Group is definitely in, and here’s why. They only have to buy 23% of the team. They’re not shelling out $5 billion. That’s not what it is. It’s going to be based on that valuation. Let’s cut that the gap in half, right? Let’s call it five and a half(billion dollars) and you got to buy 23% of the team. Fenway Sports Group can buy the controlling stake in the Celtics for under $1.3 billion. That’s not that much more than what they paid for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They paid right around $1 billion, I think. Does that make you reconsider? You can control the Celtics, and you don’t have to shell out five billion. You don’t even have to shell out one and a half.
McKone: But if you don’t have the building, you’re not going to make money. So you’re going to have to sign up for this knowing for ten years here, we’re going to be taking a bath.
Bertrand: Who’s got the political capital to get a building done? Is it more the Fenway Sports Group or is it someone like Jeff Bezos?
McKone: Connections wise, you would say it’s Fenway Sports Group.
Bertrand: They are the best connected sports owners in town. I would say the Red Sox and Bruins are both doing a good job of staying connected. They both own venues in the city. They have too. They have no choice. But the Red Sox have done very well on that front. They’ve been very wise to cozy up to politicians from day one of their ownership. How do you think they got those air rights over Lansdowne for nothing? For like $12 a year, whatever it is. I just think that they would have their eyes on this because they don’t have to buy the whole stake. They don’t have to spend five billion. They can get out of it for one billion and still control the team. Don’t rule them out.
Listen To The Full Segment Here!
