Interesting news in the corporate world today, as several outlets — The Wall Street Journal first, in this item — have reported that the Anschutz Corporation is considering the sale of its AEG brand. For the sake of clarification, the Anschutz Corporation is headed by Phil Anschutz, who took over from his father, Fred, who started the company in 1958. One of the subsidiaries of the Anschutz Corporation is the Anschutz Entertainment Group, more commonly known as AEG, the parent company of the Kings. AEG is a massive worldwide company that oversees arena development and management, concert promotion, media holdings and other interests.
Anschutz/AEG have yet to publicly comment on the report. If it should come to pass, it’s doubtful that there would be much short-term impact on the Kings, as they (as well as Staples Center, the Manchester Monarchs, Toyota Sports Center, etc.) would still be owned by AEG. The change would be at the top of the ladder, with Anschutz no longer on the top rung. It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the coming weeks…
[UPDATE: Late Tuesday afternoon, the company confirmed, with the issuance of a press release, that AEG is for sale. No word of potential buyers has yet emerged.]
this sale has to do with a Football team…..
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MichaeL_DD8 Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
@neil,
Yep, i hope in that case! Isnt it, any NFL owner cannot own another pro sport team?
And hopefully we can get a new owner who is a hockey nut! Maybe Wayne Gretzky saved up some dough.
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Osaka Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
@MichaeL_DD8, Owner who is a hockey nut or fan, like Mcnall? No, I would rather stick with the shrewd businessman type.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
@Osaka, Could not agree more. I just don’t understand this fascination with needing an present owner. I only care if he signs the paychecks.
absoludicrous Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
@MichaeL_DD8, I believe that they can but there are specific instances where they cannot. A quick search came up saying that they can own other sports teams in the same city. Or it can be in another area if the other sports team does not have an NFL team already.
An example would be Tom Benson with the New Orleans Saints and Hornets. And Paul Allen with the Portland Jailblazers and Seattle Seahawks.
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absoludicrous Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
@neil, I’m not sure if that is true or not. I was reading about that a while ago when they first started looking at NFL teams. There is a rule talking about ownership of another team, but I don’t remember seeing anything against the rules about owning the Kings. I believe it had to be in the same city unless there was not an NFL team already in that area.
And if I’m not mistaken, it was AEG that was looking to build the stadium and bring the team in. Unless what you are saying is that the company who buys AEG is the one that will bring in the football team, that may make sense.
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As long as this doesn’t affect the Kings.. It doesn’t really matter who heads AEG.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
@Who Knows?, There will certainly be an affect. What it is is unknown.
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pautna Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com), I concur. AEG gave Dean pretty much everything he asked for from a resources perspective and we won! We don’t know what mentality the new owner(s) may have.
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Harry Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
@pautna,
If it’s not winning, why bother?
Can’t wait to hear what Phil says…Oh, wait.
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Shuchuck Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
“____”
-Philip Anschutz
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Who would not want to sell with all the strikes
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Osaka Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
@Gail Web, The franchise will be more valuable after the owners take the players share of revenues. Now’s the time to buy a Stanley Cup champion team.
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maybe he’ll buy the rams. he finally made me like him as an owner, hope it can all work out.
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What if the new owner doesn’t give as much freedom as Philip did to Dean?
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DLB Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
@goldielocks, That is a very real possibility.
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Quisp Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
@goldielocks,
The the Kings’ dream of ever winning a Cup will be forever destr — oh, right.
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
@Quisp, His wife is a huge Kings fan. Maybe she will divorce him take AEG keep it and spend like McNall did on the Kings.
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Quisp Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
@luc20rules,
Yeah, mrs anschutz was the first thing I thought of when I saw the WSJ article.
Phil got a Cup, now he wants a Lombardi.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
@DesertKing, He’s got a Lombardi.
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DesertKing Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
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TheAcaciaStrain Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 12:15 am
@DesertKing, :O
I pray it is BS! But why would he, Phillip Anschutz sell the his most winning team in his own history? Fade to black perhaps.
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
@Kings Fan Vancouver, WA, As much as I love the Kings, I think the Galaxy is more successful as far as winning. I don’t know for sure, but I think both lose money atleast they way they cook the books.
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Cruiznblue Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
@luc20rules,
I dont follow them much…but isn’t Beckham and Donovan getting old?
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Quit when your on top. I don’t like it, but I understand it with the company wanting to build the football stadium.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:07 am
@Ducksuck, My first take was that I saw it coming. He can add turning around a hockey franchise to his resume. That’s possible, except he’s talking about the whole ball of wax, not just the Kings. This sounds like it’s not about the Kings. It almost seems like he could sell off parts, or sell of his role in parts, but not sell of the Kings. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
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They just had a newsbreak on- STaples- The Kings and the Galaxy are on the selling block
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Live and direct…
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-anschutz-aeg-sale-20120918,0,754304.story
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:09 am
I love their title. Title makes it sound as though Philip Anschutz is up for sale, but they obviously mean AEG, the holding company, which they say in the first paragraph.
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To sell AEG with it’s world wide sports, arenas and entertainment would mean not just a new owner but an ownership group. That might tare apart our Champion Kings, so I hope there are no takers.
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With some luck the team will be sold off separately to Jerry Bruckheimer, a hockey nut, player, billionaire and super smart business man!!! The perfect combo….
Come on Jerry, make it happen!!
Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!!!!!!!
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I just have one question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMVSBoidL84
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What? Uh? Huh? You serious
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Wow. Time to cash out, I guess.
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great…and right after Magic and his friends spend all that money on the Dodgers.
I second the Bruckheimer motion!!
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
@5-Hole, I know Chandler Bing doesn’t have that type of money. Minority partnership like Magic wouldn’t surprise me though. I do wonder though if AEG would part with any ownership interest in the Kings. The AEG umbrella is huge it may be more than 2 billion in assets.
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
@luc20rules, Did some more research the AEG net worth is well over 7 billon.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:17 am
@luc20rules, The odd thing about all that money, is I’d rather have stable assets right now than money. Money’s going to continue to devalue rapidly in the near future, in my opinion. Then again, maybe he thinks real estate will too, so he wants to cash out to move it into something else, like mining.
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am i the only one here that thinks that this is a brilliant business decision by uncle phil….?
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
@variable, I really hope the new owner is not hands on like Al Davis, or Jerry Jones. DL has the ship righted for a few more championship runs.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:20 am
@luc20rules, I can’t believe you just implied Al Davis and Jerry Jones are somehow more than remotely similar. Al Davis was a key architect of pro football’s modern era. Jerry Jones is a schmuck who interferes with his team’s operations.
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Stuart Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 8:06 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, true about AD from ’45-’75, but then from ’75-’05 he became a JJ… most fans only know him as a diaper wearing, leisure suit sporting dinosaur who held his franchise in his MontyBurnsesque bony knuckles way longer than he should have!!
with all due respect, of course, @DK…
DesertKing Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 8:41 am
@Stuart
Couldn’t have said it better. Al was a football genius in his prime, made huge contributins to the NFL and was a ble to win Super Bowls in 3 different decades and two cities, including Los Angeles. Unfortunately, age and a rapidly changing NFL caught up with Al and passed him by, and the faster it went by him, the more micro-managing he became and thus the Raiders decline. That said, Al is still a football and Raider icon for his many contributions and several other cities owe Al since he helped to place numerous other football franchises in various cities throughout the United States.
I’m ready for a comeback.
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
@JackKentCooke, Stay away from my Kings you penny pinching old cumuggin. LOL
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according to espn, it’s official…
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nhl/story/_/id/8396582/source-los-angeles-kings-anze-kopitar-signs-deal-sweden-mora-ik
kopi to sweden…
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grega11 Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 2:57 am
@variable,
he wanted to play with his brother, this was his chance and he took it
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jonsey Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 9:30 am
@variable, I am disappointed, but he has to do what he has to do. The owners (through Bettman) locked him out so, whatever.
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Does that mean Tim will be out of a job? That would suck
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dana l Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
@neil, Just kidding, right?
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neil Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
@dana l, actually I like Tim….would love to see him stay
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:21 am
@neil, Lieweekly?
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When Jack Kent Cooke bought the Redskins, didnt he have to sell the Kings and Lakers to be an NFL owner, and last I checked DC is nowhere near LA.
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CB14 Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
@dana l, I’m pretty sure the rule is that someone who owns a football team can only own other sports teams if they are in the same city as the football team, or in a city without a football team.
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Interesting. I doubt this will affect the Kings in the short term. Long term is a different story, who knows what might happen.
I know this is a hockey site, but what intrigues me about this is how it relates to the new football stadium. It seems like the main reason why AEG wanted to build a stadium was to attract more people into the area from football games, final four games, convention center bookings, ect. This would benefit the hotels in the nearby areas that AEG partners with, and the restaurants and entertainment venues in the LA Live complex that AEG controls. Tim Lieweki has said previously that Phil would be paying for the stadium with his own money, not AEG’s. The problem I see is that if Phil doesn’t own that whole complex of hotels and entertainment venues, then why would he fork over 1 billion dollars to build a stadium?
Even if that money was coming from AEG and not Phil, I don’t see a company in the process of being sold, or a little down the line after AEG has been sold, forking out a billion dollars for a football stadium. Especially since the owners of the New Entertainment Group will have just shelled out multiple billions of dollars to buy AEG.
Personally I hope that the group that bought the Dodgers will buy AEG. I know they’re probably not hockey fans, but neither was Phil when he bought the team. The big thing is that they have no problems spending money, that’s for sure. Although they have also proven that money doesn’t always equal wins.
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luc20rules Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 9:21 pm
@CB14, That crazy trade with Boston ruined the Dodgers for the next 5 years atleast.
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JD Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 1:28 am
@luc20rules, Ya sure it did, their future was so bright before that trade
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paige Reply:
September 18th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
@CB14, I don’t really understand what is going on or how it will impact the team and the fans. I do recall having a sense that the ownership of the latter part of the 90s and early 00s was brutally sadistic, and, as a result, I will never get over my paranoid suspicion that the team is about to trade any promising players for used Kleenex. I have worked for enough large corporations to know they like to play shell games before major purchases and sales. If a company needs to raise cash, it will sometimes subdivide itself, saddle a division with the debt and then sell it, a move that both raises money and cleans the books for investors, lenders and credit rating agencies…gotta figure the NFL stadium is behind this. If the new Kings owners revert to salary dumping, I am going to hate the LA Vikings.
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Wow! Win the cup and bail out. Last thing we need is any kind of change. It was all working so well.
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Phil is THAT pissed at Bettman?
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:26 am
@Osaka, Clever, but if this was about the Kings, I suspect AEG would be selling the Kings.
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It appears that the owners and the players believe in the Mayan Prophecy and just want to spend extra time with their families.
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Its all about money…aeg can’t get a loan cause banks are not giving out money…aeg sells everything and then they have the cash for the football team….
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 6:27 am
@neil, …about a dozen of them…
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Maybe not such a bad thing that AEG sells the team…. I mean, according to their website the Kings roster is stacked with stars such as Jack ‘MF’ Johnson
http://aegworldwide.com/sports/hockey/lakings
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I knew this would happen, uncle phil wants top dollar for a cup team, cant blame him but that does not mean I like it.
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I have to admit, I’m kind of confused about what’s being sold. I know that’s probably a pretty loaded question, but I thought AEG was behind the building of the football stadium, so if he’s selling AEG, then he wouldn’t be doing it for football related reasons. Or is he intending to sell it to someone who would be willing to allow the football team he’d then acquire to occupy the stadium this new person would now own? Idk, if anything, to my understanding, this sale seems to jeopardize the plans for football in LA, not make more room for them. I could, of course, be all kinds of wrong.
Anyway, I hope this doesn’t change things too drastically. It scares me… you never know what a new owner will do, but hopefully he’ll see something that’s already working and leave it mostly how it is.
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DL – But Phil, I don’t understand? We just won the Cup and now you want to sell AEG and the Kings?
Phil – Yeppers, and the Galaxy too!
DL – But why?
Phil – Well, I found out during the Cup celebration after that the game that I don’t like cold ice and that Cup thing is pretty darn heavy. With soccer, all that chanting makes me feel like I am in a Tibetan monastery or attending a Ricky Martin or Menudo concert. I don’t like ice, I don’t like monks, I don’t like Ricy Martin, I don’t like Menudo, but I think I like the Backstreet Boys.
DL – Oh, well, is there any other reasons?
Phil – Yep, Mrs. Anschutz. All she talks about is hockey and keeps mentioning how much she loves “pancakes”. I’m more of a waffle guy myself.
DL – Who could afford to buy a $7 billion dollar corporation?
Phil – Only one entertainment company I know of and they are local too. How does the name “Mighty Kings of LA” sound?
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Bob Bobson Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 7:38 am
@DesertKing, Does one of the richest and influential people in the world really say “yeppers”?
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Stuart Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 8:10 am
@Bob Bobson, yeppers… and he wears gucci slippers out on the ice to celebrate a SC win!
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DesertKing Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 8:44 am
@Bob Bobson,
Since he never says anything, you just have to kind of speculate, and since he known as “Uncle Phil,” I just kinda went with how my uncles, who admittedly are not billionaires who own hockey teams, would speak
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Stuart Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 8:52 am
@DesertKing, LOL!!! imagine if he was a bonafide mute??? he might as well be a dang pinball wizard!
Bob Bobson Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 8:56 am
@DesertKing, Hahah…I forgot about Uncle Phil. Good point.
what are the chances mccourt puts in a bid???
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I would think this would have to effect the Kings once a sale goes thru. New ownership is going to set budgets for each entity. Will the Kings be able to spend more freely or even less than now remains to be seen.
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OT…but this article raises a nightmarish option.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/picking-away-nhl-scab-hockey-during-lockout-152438869–nhl.html
Does Falco play hockey?
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Wow, just imagine our new ownership group – Alyssa Milano, Will Ferrel, Matthew Perry, David Beckham, and the head of the group, IF YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES, Al Michaels!
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I’ll take it!
Check’s in the mail Phill
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Ok, I just pushed the red “EASY” button on my desk. When do I get to move into my new office at STAPLES Center? You know, the one that says “OWNER, STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS LOS ANGELES KINGS HOCKEY CLUB.” Or is that office at the Toyota Center?
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Well let’s see…, over a period of more than 16 years, the historical accomplishment of AEG ( DBA, Asylum Entertainment Group 1995) have establish it self as one of the greatest providers of live sports and entertainment. It come as a major surprise to me, (Daniel Brack, original CEO and Executive Director) that the Anschutz Company would consider such a unusual sale off announcement of AEG. I have to wonder what prompt Anschutz to make that decision. Is it a matter of reaping full financial benefits prior to getting ready for retirement? Surely the Anschutz Company and its many other associates are not in financial trouble, similar to what Asylum Entertainment Group experienced before its 90′s buyout and business takeover. What rights (if any) does AEG shareholders and board of directors have if they decided against a sale off? Only time will tell, if any legal disputes will arrive out of the untimely AEG sale off.
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Stuart Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
@Daniel X Brack, I believe he is looking to “sale off” so that can then purchase his own fantasy island so that he can employ a person of limited stature and marvel at all the planes flying in… Maybe he’ll hire his doppleganger, Lee Corso?
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Excellent ownership. I’ve taken some heat in the past for backing AEG when they were accused of being cheapskates, but in my mind they were always one of the best ownership groups we could have ever asked for.
It will be a sad day I think, when they finally sell, but I do wish them nothing but success in whatever they’re planning next.
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Hi Rich, have you talked to any players about the sale of the team, they must be preoccupied with the CBA issues but this could be mind blowing to them.
You win the cup, on top of the world then you get locked out, the your team/contract is sold….
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Rich Hammond Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
I doubt AEG’s sale is really on players’ mind. The chance that it would impact anything in the short term is incredibly minute. It’s not as though the players have had a close relationship with Anschutz, and nothing else is likely to change for at least a year, if not more, if it all.
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empire Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
@Rich Hammond, That’s good news, thanks Rich.
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Doesn’t AEG own the Avalanche as well…..?
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Stuart Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 2:40 pm
@Dom, a quick search turned up Kroenke Sports Enterprises…
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