AOL finds group buyer for Hawks, Thrashers, arena Sept. 15, 2003 SportsLine.com wire reports ATLANTA -- AOL Time Warner has found a group to buy the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers that does not include Texas auto dealer David McDavid, who had been negotiating with the company since April. AOL Time Warner would not name the new buyers, saying only the group includes "local partners." A person familiar with the deal, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press on Monday night the investment group includes Boston businessman Steve Belkin, who previously pursued an NBA expansion team in Charlotte, and several Atlantans, including businessmen Michael Gearon Sr., Michael Gearon Jr. and attorney Rutherford Seydel. Gearon Sr. has been associated with the Hawks for 26 years. He was president of the team from 1977-86. Since Stan Kasten became president of the Hawks in 1986 and Gearon has been chairman of the team's board of directors. Seydel is the son-in-law of Ted Turner, who owned the NBA's Hawks and NHL's Thrashers before ceding control to AOL Time Warner. Belkin founded the Trans National Group, a direct response marketing and investment company. "We have reached a binding agreement for the sale of the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers franchises and operating rights to Philips Arena to an investment group, including local partners, which will be introduced to the press at an event tomorrow," AOL Time Warner said in a statement released Monday afternoon. "We continue to have the highest professional regard for David McDavid and the McDavid Group, with whom we worked in good faith for the past several months." The decision surprised McDavid and his representatives, who said they thought a news conference to announce their deal could have come as early as Tuesday. "We are shocked," Stephen Dieb, McDavid's business partner, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Until this morning, we thought it was done." AOL Time Warner wants to sell the teams to pay down its $24 billion debt. "It will improve the company's financial ratios and will improve our financial flexibility," company spokesman Ed Adler said, declining to comment further on the sale until details are released. AOL Time Warner also has expressed an interest in selling the Atlanta Braves, who are not included in this deal. The Braves, which would be sold with their stadium, Turner Field, are seen as the most valuable of the teams. No price had been announced for the NBA's Hawks and NHL's Thrashers. AOL's Turner Broadcasting division, which runs the teams, entered exclusive talks in April with McDavid to buy the Hawks and Thrashers, along with operating rights to Philips Arena. The negotiations stretched longer than expected, ending McDavid's rights to exclusivity. Recently, the negotiations were complicated by a provision in the Philips Arena bond sale, which uses the Hawks as a form of collateral. When the arena was built with government-backed bonds, Turner Broadcasting put up the Hawks as collateral up to a limit of $60 million, in case the company defaulted on an obligation to make the annual bond payments of about $12 million over 30 years. In order to complete the deal, AOL Time Warner likely will have to replace the collateral. McDavid is a former minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks. He has attempted to buy other NBA teams, including the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Vancouver Grizzlies. Earlier this year, he had discussions about buying the NHL's Dallas Stars. Turner owned the three Atlanta teams, and he maintained a role in running the franchises after Time Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting. After the AOL-Time Warner merger, Turner lost his management role. AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service Copyright 2003, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Hopefully, this will speed things up. The Hawks have been about-to-be-sold for months and months now.
