BOSTON -- The owners of the Boston Red Sox declined Sunday
to pursue a late $700 million offer to buy the team and they
reconfirmed their Dec. 20 decision to accept a $660 million bid
from a group led by Florida financier John Henry.
"We always knew people would fight very hard to own the Red
Sox, and that emotions would run high. But enough is enough," Red
Sox chief executive John Harrington said in a statement. "It is
obvious that there will be another round of criticism from the
disappointed. So be it. This is the best decision for the trust and
the foundation because it has the highest probability of closing."
Harrington runs the Jean R. Yawkey Trust, which owns a 53
percent controlling share of the Red Sox.
Meanwhile, a 45-minute telephone conversation between
Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly and baseball
commissioner Bud Selig did little to answer Reilly's questions
about Selig's role in the sale of the team, a spokeswoman for
Reilly said.
"We won't get specifically into what was discussed, but it was
not that helpful," Ann Donlan said. "It yielded very little new
information."
Reilly is trying to determine if Selig's office improperly
guided the Red Sox into accepting the Henry group's bid.
Harrington said the team's limited partners rejected the late
$700 million offer from cable television billionaire Charles Dolan
because it came too late.
Dolan, chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp., made the bid
Thursday, three weeks after the Red Sox agreed to the offer from
Henry, who is in the process of selling the Florida Marlins.
"First, the auction process ended December 20," Harrington
said. "Final bids were due that day and all bidders, including Mr.
Dolan, were advised of this."
Harrington said the team's limited partners also decided to
stick with the Henry bid because the group has already paid a $66
million deposit; it still provides a better economic value; and the
team wants the new ownership group in place by April's Opening Day.
"Given Mr. Dolan's cross-ownership of other professional sports
teams, his media holdings and the conflicts presented by his
brother's ownership of the Cleveland Indians, and the absence of
any proposals by Mr. Dolan to solve these issues, the conclusion of
December 20 about the risks and delays inherent in his bid
remain unchanged," Harrington said.
Any sale must be approved by major league owners. Baseball's
ownership committee met in early January and has placed approval of
the Henry group's bid on their winter meetings agenda this
Wednesday.
Reilly's investigation will continue. Reilly and Selig were
originally scheduled to talk Saturday evening, but that
conversation was canceled when Reilly refused to accept baseball's
requests to limit what was discussed and what would be made public.
Baseball officials called back later Saturday to reschedule the
talk on Sunday.
Reilly is investigating whether charities that would benefit
from the sale were shortchanged when the team accepted Henry's
offer instead of a $750 million bid from a group headed by New York
lawyer Miles Prentice. The team claimed the Prentice offer did not
have secure financing.
"Our attorneys worked through the weekend to gather information
for this comprehensive review of the Red Sox sale," Donlan said.
"We have had hours of interviews with bidders and major league
baseball and the limited partners. At this point in terms of where
we are, we are assessing our options."
| |
|
