AEG to sell Staples Center. & part ownership of Lakers

This is when I wish the Buss family had Warren Buffet/Bill Gates money. We wouldn't even be stressing about the financial luxury tax in a few years, and Buss could buy back the 30% from AEG, along with Staples Center, and send the Clippers out to Anaheim or to Seattle!!

therealdeal wrote:

VincentTH wrote:Someone mentioned that the Lakers may want to buy back AEG's share of the team. I read that the sale is for the whole thing or nothing.

1. Whole thing as in Lakers AND Staples Center?
2. Where from?

1. WHole thing as in the entire AEG, not just pieces like just the Lakers.
2. From the OC Register article (the printed type, so I am looking for URL)

[EDIT] Found it:

AEG officials said it is unlikely the company would be sold in pieces.

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/aeg-371979-angeles-company.html

VincentTH wrote:

therealdeal wrote:

VincentTH wrote:Someone mentioned that the Lakers may want to buy back AEG's share of the team. I read that the sale is for the whole thing or nothing.

1. Whole thing as in Lakers AND Staples Center?
2. Where from?

1. WHole thing as in the entire AEG, not just pieces like just the Lakers.
2. From the OC Register article (the printed type, so I am looking for URL)

Gotcha.

I heard that one asian dude is considering buying all of AEG with his 7 billion. He's the guy that owns Magic's stock in the Lakers already.

I wouldn't mind. I've heard good things about him.

XXIV wrote:

therealdeal wrote:... why is it for sale? I can think of two things: 1) they're selling high on the stock or 2) they need the money for the stadium they're trying to put up.

It's likely both.

or it could be that Anschutz is 70+years old and he's selling to reorganize his estate by going liquid........

jjin28 wrote:

XXIV wrote:

therealdeal wrote:... why is it for sale? I can think of two things: 1) they're selling high on the stock or 2) they need the money for the stadium they're trying to put up.

It's likely both.

or it could be that Anschutz is 70+years old and he's selling to reorganize his estate by going liquid........

Heard that today too.

It seems odd though considering all of the effort AEG has put into making a new stadium to be sold at this point.

Just kind of odd from a business perspective.

therealdeal wrote:

jjin28 wrote:

XXIV wrote:

therealdeal wrote:... why is it for sale? I can think of two things: 1) they're selling high on the stock or 2) they need the money for the stadium they're trying to put up.

It's likely both.

or it could be that Anschutz is 70+years old and he's selling to reorganize his estate by going liquid........

Heard that today too.

It seems odd though considering all of the effort AEG has put into making a new stadium to be sold at this point.

Just kind of odd from a business perspective.

This makes perfect sense from an estate planning point of view. Philip Anschutz is doing this in order to preserve what's left of his fortune after estate taxes for his heirs. Same deal as with the O'Malley family selling the Dodgers way back when and Jerry Buss selling 30% of the Lakers to AEG in the first place (I had thought that was 25% while Magic had 5% which he sold to Soon-Shiong. So if AEG really owns 30% of the Lakers and Soon-Shiong still owns Magic's interest, then the Buss family actually own only 65% of the Lakers. Hmmm....

When the estate tax has to be paid, it's better to have set it up the structure for covering it in advance, that way the maximum price can be extracted for the assets sold, rather than OMG, the tax bill is due, the heirs gotta sell something now in which case the buyers know they can low ball because they got the seller over a barrel.

Also I do not see the Buss family buying back that 30% of the Lakers they sold, let alone buy AEG. Have to remember Jerry Buss sold that 30% in order to generate the cash required to enable the family to keep the Lakers in the family when he passes away and the estate taxes become due.

This has everything to do with AEG building a new stadium & bringing Football to Los Angeles...

jlkr wrote:This makes perfect sense from an estate planning point of view. Philip Anschutz is doing this in order to preserve what's left of his fortune after estate taxes for his heirs. Same deal as with the O'Malley family selling the Dodgers way back when and Jerry Buss selling 30% of the Lakers to AEG in the first place (I had thought that was 25% while Magic had 5% which he sold to Soon-Shiong. So if AEG really owns 30% of the Lakers and Soon-Shiong still owns Magic's interest, then the Buss family actually own only 65% of the Lakers. Hmmm....

Well said and I know it makes sense from his perspective, but the timing is still odd. Anschultz knew he was going to turn 76 before the stadium was built. From a business perspective why even go through this trouble if only to sell the company? Maybe he's learned something about his own health? I don't know. Maybe Phil has let AEG run itself so independently that he wasn't much a factor in AEG's new acquisitions and new projects? I don't know.

I mean the bottom line is that whoever buys AEG is going to buy the new stadium too, that's not going to go away, but a billion dollar investment like this is something you don't start arbitrarily and then decide to sell the company that started it.

jlkr wrote:Also I do not see the Buss family buying back that 30% of the Lakers they sold, let alone buy AEG. Have to remember Jerry Buss sold that 30% in order to generate the cash required to enable the family to keep the Lakers in the family when he passes away and the estate taxes become due.

I don't either. I could see them trying to buy Staples, but not after all of the guaranteed money they just put out for this team. They're likely to not make any big purchases until 2015 or so.