Hicks Would Sell Rangers But Not Stars

((HT: MyFoxDFW))

Tom Hicks is willing to give up control of baseball's Texas Rangers if the right deal comes along but he intends to keep the NHL's Dallas Stars.

Hicks said in late March that he was seeking minority investors to purchase up to 49 percent in each club. About a week later, the holding company that owns the clubs, Hicks Sports Group, defaulted on about $525 million in loans. Hicks said he intentionally made the move to help negotiate with banks.

"With the right partners, I would be willing to sell a controlling interest in the Rangers," Hicks said on Thursday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Not so with the Stars."

His intentions were first reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
That article, by Randy Galloway, is right here...

His key paragraphs:

"What was "adamant" in early spring doesn’t necessarily apply in late May. And for someone in Hicks’ financial circles, things change as much as the ups and downs of a depressed national market. (This will be, promise, my final comment on all things listed under economics).

With, however, Hicks now saying a majority interest in the local baseball team is up for sale, depending on if Hicks is chummy with the potential buyer, then Wednesday’s next ballpark contact was, of course, Nolan Ryan.

As Hicks’ hand-picked, in-charge-of-everything team president, chummy seems to apply here. Plus, it has been speculated many times that Ryan and his longtime business partner, Don Sanders of Houston, would have an interest in buying a majority share of the Rangers. And no interest at all in what was previously being offered — a minority share.

"Knowing nothing about what the details are, and having not been involved in discussions [about being a majority owner], there’s no way I can comment on any of this," Ryan said.

Would it be something he would now explore?

"That’s hard to say," Ryan added, "without having talked to Tom about it."

On the sale of any team, commissioner Bud Selig’s office is involved in determining partners, since it’s a process where all investors have to eventually be checked out and approved by the other owners.

Under those guidelines, Hicks is being advised, and it can be assumed, also being given a list of potential investors by the commissioner’s office. But it’s a hard sell, obviously, when Hicks was offering only a minority interest while maintaining total control."

Hicks bought the Stars in 1996, and the team won the Stanley Cup three years later. In 1998, he purchased the Rangers from George W. Bush's group and Hicks created a stir in December 2000 when the Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez to a $252 million, 10-year contract. Hicks has said he owns 95 percent of both teams.

Two years ago, he combined with Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. to buy the English soccer club Liverpool through a different entity.