34 replies to this topic

[Maddog]

Don't know how reliable this is but......

The Devils are "very close" to a deal in which a new investor will pay down the company's $80 million in overdue debt and give Vanderbeek until the start of next season to raise new capital.
But the financial lifeline comes with strings attached, these sources said. If Vanderbeek cannot line up additional capital by the fall, he would be forced to sell the team, sources said.

The mystery investor already exchanged term sheets with the lending group and Vanderbeek, a source said.

http://msn.foxsports...til-fall-022112

[Daniel]

My link

Post reporting the same thing.

[peteyvegas]

Hope he has oil stock.

[DaneykoIsGod]

The Post and FOX both fly under the same News Corp. flag and the stories are practically identical.

I found these points to be most interesting:

They have the second-highest point total in the Eastern Conference, behind just the Rangers, and appear well on their way to post-season play.

But the amount of money Vanderbeek needs in order to fully rescue him from his quagmire is more than the team would ring up — even if it went deep into the playoffs, sources said.

So much for a deep playoff run raising the money needed.

The Devils have seemed close to a financing solution before.

Vanderbeek, in November, working with Goldman Sachs, tried to raise $80 million by securitizing the Devils long-term TV deal with the MSG Network.

However, it failed.

Previously, the company that co-owns the team, Brick City, offered to pay creditors $24.5 million in exchange for giving up its 47 percent ownership to Vanderbeek, and being freed from having to fund losses.

That, too, was iced.

We had heard about these efforts before, but this is the first I've seen that they've failed. Maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention, though.


Anyway, I wonder if the Wendy's guy is the financier of this strings-attached bailout?

[ZeroGravityFat]

well that's good news, at least for the sake of parise. for JVB, well it's up to him to take care of his finances but we should be good as a team.

And if the financer is the Wendy's guy, it sounded like he wanted to buy the team to begin with, so the clause is to probably secure his rights to having the first shot at buying the team.

Win win for the fans if you ask me.

Edited by ZeroGravityFat, 21 February 2012 - 10:00 AM.

[sundstrom]

its come to be believed that the Wendy's guy is wired into Murdoch so the Post and Fox Sports are mouth pieces for him. Additionally, it appears he's not liked by the other owners but what its all conjecture.

as far as parise, it would make sense if the league was keeping the devils from offering him a long term deal until this is sorted out. you'd think that JVB, even if he knew he was out, would've given parise a decent deal as a fan of the team and just made it someone else's problem.

[Amberite]

I can't figure out if this is good news or not.

[Daniel]

as far as parise, it would make sense if the league was keeping the devils from offering him a long term deal until this is sorted out. you'd think that JVB, even if he knew he was out, would've given parise a decent deal as a fan of the team and just made it someone else's problem.

He who has the gold makes the rules, and it's clear that JVB doesn't have it at the moment.

[Devilsfan118]

Glad to hear JVB is still actively seeking out solutions (as he should be, mind you)

ie, he hasn't thrown in the towel yet and is trying to find a solution that doesn't involve ditching the team

[Triumph]

its come to be believed that the Wendy's guy is wired into Murdoch so the Post and Fox Sports are mouth pieces for him. Additionally, it appears he's not liked by the other owners but what its all conjecture.

In addition to that conjecture, the rumor is that he wants a team in Connecticut.

[coldply123]

In addition to that conjecture, the rumor is that he wants a team in Connecticut.

True. I had heard that somewhere as well. Doesn't seem realistic, although money tends to make things reality, haha. The state couldn't muster the support and finances needed for the Whalers. Since then, much of the old Whalers fan-base has probably split towards the Rangers and Bruins. Also, add in the question of where they could even play that would be a viable NHL arena and it doesn't seem possible to me especially when you consider that if he were to target the Devils, the cost of cutting the tenancy agreement with Newark would be gargantuan.

[Colin226]

A poster over on HF gave a good synopsis of the team's financial situation over the years..

Here's a nice little synopsis for you from what I know over the years (not all of this read from newspaper articles..)

Chambers sold VBK the controlling shares of the team with a clause stating he could trigger a full sale of the team (including VBK's shares) if certain financial stipulations were met. He tried to do so but failed to find a buyer (or offer that met the financial stipulations).

Chambers is thus left with his 47%, pretty worthless non-controlling shares because the Devils do not turn enough of a profit to make it a worthwhile business investment to anyone who has no desire to actually say he owns a hockey team.

The Devils took out loans to build the arenas. Chambers and VBK (in reality, whoever owns the team.. whether it be them two or if they sell it to someone else.. the loans are taken out by the Devils themselves, not VBK/Chambers) are ultimately responsible to pay off those loans so, if the reports are all true, the Devils have more debt than team value meaning it would be even harder for Chambers to sell his shares because anyone who comes in would have to pay both Chambers' price as well as take on nearly half of the loan payments.

Now, you have rumors of Chambers being wiling to pay $25 million to unload his shares, and more importantly, is share of the debt which is really much higher than that which makes this a deal worthwhile to both parties (Chambers gets outs without losing more money, VBK gets 98% of the team). Sounds like this has broken down as of late. In the meantime, probably to force VBK's hand in either buying Chamber's shares (or via a lower fee to unload) or force a full sale of the team, Chambers is unwilling to invest any more money in the franchise. Like I said earlier, it is unclear whether this includes hockey operations or not.

So he effectively has a strange hold on the company, since VBK is either unwilling or cannot afford to finance the team by himself.. meaning VBK has to look for outside investors or other creative ways to generate capital (leveraging the MSG TV deal).

Its funny because both these millionaires screwed themselves. Chambers got his wish in moving the Devils to Newark but by taking non-controlling shares, he really messed himself up in regards to future value (i'm assuming he thought he could hit those aforementioned financial stipulations to make a quick flip). VBK got his team but probably couldn't afford the full 100% at the time and is now being handcuffed by clauses built into that original purchase.

[TheMazz]

What happened to the owner of Wendy's coming in and helping us out?

[Chuck the Duck]

Can we get Mark Cuban to buy the team?

Edited by Chuck the Duck, 21 February 2012 - 11:09 AM.

[Colin226]

Can we get Mark Cuban to buy the team?

Why do you want Lou to retire so badly?

[Chuck the Duck]

I was just kidding. However, in all seriousness, Mr. Wendy's taking over scares the hell out of me. I don't think people like him, who have no attachment to the team, city, or state, will wait around too long while this team loses money year after year. If he gets control, I can see the Devils in Hartford within 3-5 years.

[ScoreMoreThan3]

I can't figure out if this is good news or not.

Anything having to do with debt isn't good.

[GoArmySports]

Can we get Mark Cuban to buy the team?

Every fan in America who roots for a team that is either in financial distress or just flat out doesn't have a good team wishes Mark Cuban would buy them out.

[lucifer91]

Anything having to do with debt isn't good.

-1

[nmm90392]

So the Wendy's guy is involed in this? And there is no point in moving the team to CT. The rock is only a few years old and plus I don't think the league would let the devils move