Canucks: Sold! Well, 50% anyway.

[TheRob]

So the Aquafina family has purchased 50% of the Canucks to bring some local ownership in. This guy is rich. He owns several properties around town and the Golden Eagle Golf Course.

Is this a good thing? Aside from the Griffiths family, local ownership groups, and I'm including past Lions and Grizzlies owners here, have been a bunch of shady flakes to say the least. Change can be a little scary when it comes to "religion".

It will be interesting to see what transpires once the lockout is over. If it ever is.

 

[Yoda]

I thought McCaw was selling 49% of the team not 50% so he could still be majority owner?
And yes, Aquilini must be loaded. If you can charge that much for a round of golf at that dog track and still be busy, you must be making a bit of money.

Guess Beedie and the other guy weren't ready to take the plunge anymore.

 

[Reccos]

If it is 50/50, then who is in charge? That makes no sense to me. Most businesses, even close partnerships usually give one guy 51% to have someone with majority control.

There is likely more to this than is public now. Maybe it is 50/50 now and when the strike is settled then the buyer has an option to buy all or part of the balance of the business. This makes some sense in that McCaw could be getting some cash out of the business now (up front), the balance of the 50% sale over time when some revenues start to come in, and then be bought out entirely by some other partner this guy has in mind.

Who would go into a purchase like this to be a minority owner for 50% and have no say? I doubt that would happen for a 50% share and the possibility of some limited revenues or tax losses. It may be that the Tom Gaglardi/Beedie deal is still out there to take out McCaw at some future date. This latter group probably would have been a highly leveraged deal where the Aquilini guy has more or all cash.

This is not over yet I don't think.