Although there has been no formal announcement from prospective Blues owner Matthew Hulsizer or the club regarding their purchase agreement, sources tell the Post-Dispatch that the two sides are still working to complete the deal.
Hulsizer, CEO of Chicago-based financial-services firm PEAK6, signed an agreement with the Blues on Oct. 28, and if the deal closes, he would become the majority owner of the franchise. Sources say that Hulsizer would have 70 percent control of the club under the agreement, while Blues chairman Dave Checketts would hold the remaining 30 percent, although Checketts would be an investor and have no hand in hockey operations.
The sale price for the package, which includes the Scottrade Center lease, the Blues' top minor-league affiliate in Peoria, Ill., and the Peabody Opera House, is listed at about $180 million.
Checketts' investment needed to close the deal is $20 million, according to sources, and if that would entitle him to 30 percent of the Blues, it suggests that the total equity in the deal is about $60 million. It's unknown how much of the final purchase price the new owners would have to finance, but if Hulsizer and Checketts were able to secure financing for half of the sale, which is common, that would make the actual purchase price closer to $120 million to $130 million.
Two weeks after sources confirmed to the Post-Dispatch that a purchase agreement had been signed, neither Hulsizer nor the team has acknowledged the deal publicly. It's believed that a formal announcement is pending because of contingencies in the deal that need to be satisfied, specifically the financing.
The chances a deal with Hulsizer will still be completed following the purchase agreement isn't known, but sources indicate that neither a closing date nor an approval vote by the NHL's Board of Governors is imminent. The league's next meeting is next month, although votes of this nature can be taken via conference call.
Hulsizer, who was unanimously approved by the NHL during his attempted purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010, has not commented publicly on his pursuit of the Blues and was unavailable to comment Friday.
The Post-Dispatch reported last month, when Hulsizer signed the purchase agreement, that former Tampa Bay owner Oren Koules would be part of the investment group. It's expected that Koules' investment would be included in Hulsizer's 70 percent stake.
If Hulsizer's deal with the Blues doesn't come to fruition, sources say the local group led by the club's current minority owner, Tom Stillman, remains interested in buying the team.
Stillman has made at least two offers to purchase the Blues, but both were rejected. After he submitted an initial offer of $110 million, sources said the second bid was higher, perhaps as much as $120 million to $130 million.
Stillman has declined to comment.
Sources say the Stillman group, which includes Stillman's father-in-law, former Sen. John Danforth, has also added the Taylor family as investors. The Taylors own St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings, which is ranked No. 16 on Forbes' "500 Largest Private Companies in America" with $14.1 billion in revenue.
In 2009, Enterprise Rent-A-Car signed a four-year sponsorship agreement with the NHL that is worth $12 million.
