[rQUOTEr]ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula is on the verge of buy the Buffalo Bills, league sources have told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and ESPN Senior Analyst Chris Mortensen. The process is said to be "moving quick," according to sources, and the Buffalo News has reported a decision could happen by Wednesday. At least three ownership groups submitted formal bids to buy the Bills on Monday, four people familiar with discussions revealed that information to The Associated Press. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale is being conducted privately. The other groups submitting bids were led by New York City real estate mogul Donald Trump, and a Toronto group led by rocker Jon Bon Jovi. The bids were submitted to Morgan Stanley, the banking firm overseeing the sale process on behalf of late owner Ralph Wilson's estate. Three of the people said the estate issued purchase agreements to at least four groups, and potentially five. The other groups' identities are not known, and it's unclear if they submitted bids. ... The franchise was last valued by Forbes to be worth $935 million. But the sale price is expected to exceed $1 billion because NFL franchises rarely go on the block. ... Once identified, the prospective owner would be presented to members of the NFL Finance Committee, which is scheduled to meet next week. The candidate must also go through an extensive background check conducted by an NFL-contracted security firm. The final step would be approval from three-quarters of the league's 31 other owners, which could come at league meetings next month. After that, NFL owners are next scheduled to meet in December. Terry Pegula and his wife Kim have a net worth of more than $3.5 billion, and have the support of local business leaders and public officials because of their commitment to keep the Bills in western New York. ... Under the lease agreement reached in December 2012 with New York State and Erie County, the Bills are essentially locked in to playing at Ralph Wilson Stadium through the end of the 2019 season. There is a one-time out clause that would allow the team to break the agreement for just under $28.4 million in 2020. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11490401/three-groups-submit-bids-buy-buffalo-bills[/rQUOTEr]
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pegula to pay $1.4 billion for the Buffalo Bills, a record high for an NFL team. There were five bidders for the team. More in SBD soon</p>— daniel kaplan (@dkaplanSBJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/dkaplanSBJ/status/509426902306934784">September 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That's a great thing for Buffalo. This is probably the one buyer that would be interested in building a downtown, waterfront stadium for the Bills. Interesting Trump says he quit bidding when he thought it wasn't a good deal. Won't admit defeat. The Bon Jovi group was from Toronto and would likely have moved the team there. I heard many stations in Buffalo quit playing his music because of it.