Rogers boosts sports bet with $3.5 billion deal for Bell's Maple Leaf stake

(Reuters) -Rogers Communications said it would buy Bell's stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for C$4.7 billion ($3.46 billion) to become the majority owner of the Canadian sports firm behind the Toronto Raptors basketball team and NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.

The purchase of Bell's 37.5% stake will double Rogers (NYSE:ROG )' ownership in the company and deepen its bet on sports investments that include the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball.

For Bell, the deal could aid a restructuring prompted by the ongoing decline in its legacy phone and news business. U.S.-listed shares of the Canadian telecom firm were up more than 4% in early trading on Wednesday.

Rogers and Bell in 2012 jointly bought a majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, whose prized collection of some of the Canada's most valuable sports assets include the Toronto FC soccer team and Scotiabank Arena in Ontario.

"MLSE continues to appreciate significantly. This agreement also ensures long-term Canadian ownership and investment of these iconic teams," said Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri.

Sports investments have attracted a surge of interest in recent years thanks to the loyal fans and rising valuations of teams in top leagues. An internal JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM ) memo showed in March that top sports franchises in the U.S. and Europe were collectively valued at more than $400 billion.

Rogers, which has invested $14 billion in Canadian sports over the last decade, said the financing for the deal will include private investors and not affect its debt leverage.

The deal will provide Bell with the opportunity to renew its existing MLSE broadcast and sponsorship rights long-term at fair market value, including access to content rights for half of all Toronto Maple Leafs regional games and half of Toronto Raptors games.



Bell said in February it would slash 4,800 jobs in a bid to cut costs.

($1 = 1.3590 Canadian dollars)

Source: Investing.com