Rogers Communications is reportedly taking over as the majority shareholder of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment and its subsidiaries including the Toronto Raptors.
Rogers Communications today announced it has signed an agreement to buy Bell’s 37.5% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) for $4.7 billion. This acquisition will give Rogers a 75% stake in the company. Canadian entrepreneur Larry Tanenbaum owns the remaining portion of MLSE worth 25%.
President and CEO of Rogers Tony Staffieri talked about expanding ownership:
“MLSE is one of the most prestigious sports and entertainment organizations in the world and we’re proud to expand our ownership of these coveted sports teams. As Canada’s leading communications and entertainment company, live sports and entertainment are a critical part of our core business strategy.”
This is another big change for MLSE. Tanenbaum sold off a portion of his ownership stake last season and then helped bring a WNBA team to Toronto. MLSE also named Keith Pelley as its new CEO, replacing interim CEO Cynthia Devine.
MLSE owns the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies, Toronto Argos, and Toronto FC. Rogers also owns 100% of the Toronto Blue Jays who are not affiliated with MLSE.
It will be interesting to see if this acquisition has any impact on the Raptors organization.
When Raptors president Masai Ujiri was up for a new contract in 2021, Rogers chairman Edward Rogers reportedly was against the decision to re-sign Ujiri as a top-of-market NBA executive, per The Toronto Star.
Ujiri’s current contract is set to expire in 2026, per Sportsnet. His long-term future with the Raptors is unclear.
Bell and Rogers have both owned MLSE since 2012.
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There were rumors circling all summer long that the Toronto Raptors were going to have a retro-inspired jersey to celebrate their 30th anniversary during the 2024-25 NBA season.
It appears that will be the case. An apparent jersey leak was shared on social media, which revealed a Raptors jersey featuring a Vince Carter-inspired logo with the number 15.
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