The couple that owns the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, Terry and Kim Pegula, have hired a well-known investment banker to aid their potential bid to buy the Buffalo Bills, according to the Buffalo News’ Tim Graham:
The Buffalo News has confirmed Steve Greenberg, managing director of elite investment bank Allen & Company, is representing the Pegulas as they investigate becoming NFL owners.
Greenberg’s presence is the biggest sign yet of the Pegulas’ attraction to the Bills. They already own the Buffalo Sabres.
The Pegulas have not declared publicly whether they will bid on the Bills. The team has been for sale since shortly after founder Ralph Wilson’s death in March.
The Pegulas recently released a statement through the Sabres, stressing their “strong desire to have the Buffalo Bills remain a centerpiece” of Western New York, but the statement didn’t reveal any intentions to buy.
The hiring of Greenberg shows the Pegulas are preparing as though they will make a bid — even if they eventually decide not to.
Graham points out that Greenberg is a top sports broker, having brokered purchases of the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres. Greenberg also brokered sales of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, and Milwaukee Bucks, and served as deputy commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of MLB.
Graham writes that the Pegulas’ next important step in exploring the Bills will likely be to review the team’s sales book, which is a detailed look at the team’s financial information. Morgan Stanley, which is the investment bank representing the Bills, has not yet released the sales book.
Potential bidders expected to have before the July 4 weekend, but it might not be available until afterward, two sources told the Buffalo News. The Bills ranked 30th out of 32 teams in the NFL in terms of value at $870 million in August 2013, according to Forbes.
However, the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers currently have a sale pending for $2 billion after being valued by Forbes at $575 Million this past January. The price for the Bills could very well exceed the perceived value of the team.
Terry Pegula sold off his the assets of his natural gas company, East Resources, for $4.7 billion to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). The Pegulas definitely have the deep pockets to make a legitimate offer to purchase the Bills.
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