KJ keeping the Kings in Sacramento

[ComboGuardCity]

A bankruptcy trustee who controls 7 percent of the Sacramento Kings says the team's limited partners are being denied their legal right to match a Seattle investment group's purchase offer for the team.

The assertion by trustee David Flemmer could present a major legal challenge to the Maloof family as it attempts to complete its just-announced sale of the team to a group that intends to move it to Seattle.

Flemmer, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the 7 percent share of the Kings owned by team limited partner Bob Cook, said Cook and other minority owners have "first right of refusal" to buy the club. He said that right is guaranteed in the partnership agreements governing ownership of the team.

That means the limited partners should be allowed to match the deal that the majority owners, the Maloofs, have struck with the group headed by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen.

Flemmer wouldn't go into details on legal strategy but said he plans to assert the limited partners' rights at a hearing next Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento.

"Bankruptcy is a tool; this tool can be effective," Flemmer said. "We are very, very, very concerned that there's a deal being cut that's going to (ignore) that right."

A limited partner taking control of an NBA franchise is not unprecedented. Michael Jordan executed a right of first refusal to buy the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010.

A Maloof family spokesman had no immediate comment today.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/24/513847 ... rylink=cpy

If true, this could get interesting.

Sounds like something the Maloofs would totally forget about too.

Flemmer is wrong and is just looking for a money grab in the form of a settlement. His client doesn't have the cash to purchase the Kings.

From the same article:

Flemmer is holding an auction for Cook's 7 percent share of the team to pay off his creditors. If the limited partners are denied the right to match Hansen's offer, that diminishes the value of the Cook share, he said.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/24/513847 ... rylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

[boogie-reke]

Yea, so how is he wrong again? What he's saying is there IS a first refusal.

That's not the only minority owner in the Kings too, you know.

[ComboGuardCity]

Yea, so how is he wrong? What he's saying is there IS a first refusal.

That's not the only minority owner in the Kings too.

They have the right to match the Seattle offer with their own money. The guy who owns that 7%, Cook, is bankrupt. Nobody within the minority ownership group has the money or the desire to buy the kings at this outrageour price or they would have come forward already

[boogie-reke]

Do you know them? have you talked to them? Have you checked their pockets to see how much money each of them got? Do you know if they can or can't be part of a group with say Burkle and co? Do you know for a fact Sacramento based potential buyers aren't gonna try buy that 7%?

For a guy who says he has no interest or side in this story, you seem quite invested and one sided so far in this thread btw, trying to pretty much shut down w/e Sacramento say with a blink of an eye, as if trying to force them into their graves.

[ComboGuardCity]

Do you know them? have you talked to them? Have you checked their pockets to see how much money each of them got? Do you know if they can or can't be part of a group with say Burkle and co? Do you know for a fact Sacramento based potential buyers aren't gonna try buy that 7%?

For a guy who says he has no interest or side in this story, you seem quite invested and one sided so far in this thread btw, trying to pretty much shut down w/e Sacramento say with a blink of an eye, as if trying to force them into their graves.

Unfortunately, your reading comprehension is a bit off when it comes to this article. A Sacramento buyer, like Burkle, cannot come in and buy this 7% and then turn around and match the Sonics offer. The CURRENT owner of that 7% can do so. That current owner is Bankrupt and doesn't really even own that 7% share, his creditors do. I seriously doubt there is a billionaire investor within the remaining 28% that has the capital Hansen does. Not only that, he would have to severely overpay for the Kings at the $525mill valuation, resulting in a huge financial loss. So no, I don't know them, but I know the situation well enough that I understand it better than you do.

I find this story interesting and I can follow it because its something I can see myself doing 5-10 years down the line. There is no bias in my words, just common sense.

[ADoaN17]

Sacramento fans had to watch crap basketball for the past 6 years while the Maloofs have been trying the save the most money possible. Maloofs haven't tried to make a winning product and have shown that they want to leave Sacramento. Not really a good formula for attendance. Hard to support buying tickets when your money goes to the Maloofs.
I guarantee if Sac gets new owners the attendance will rise.

[boogie-reke]

Do you know them? have you talked to them? Have you checked their pockets to see how much money each of them got? Do you know if they can or can't be part of a group with say Burkle and co? Do you know for a fact Sacramento based potential buyers aren't gonna try buy that 7%?

For a guy who says he has no interest or side in this story, you seem quite invested and one sided so far in this thread btw, trying to pretty much shut down w/e Sacramento say with a blink of an eye, as if trying to force them into their graves.

Unfortunately, your reading comprehension is a bit off when it comes to this article. A Sacramento buyer, like Burkle, cannot come in and buy this 7% and then turn around and match the Sonics offer. The CURRENT owner of that 7% can do so. That current owner is Bankrupt and doesn't really even own that 7% share, his creditors do. I seriously doubt there is a billionaire investor within the remaining 28% that has the capital Hansen does. Not only that, he would have to severely overpay for the Kings at the $525mill valuation, resulting in a huge financial loss. So no, I don't know them, but I know the situation well enough that I understand it better than you do.

I find this story interesting and I can follow it because its something I can see myself doing 5-10 years down the line. There is no bias in my words, just common sense.

One would think that with buying the 7%, you'd gain his rights as a minority owner - including having the right to match a potential bid. I haven't seen in the article something that mentions that only that specific owner have that right, even if someone else buys that 7% (which again, buys all the rights he had as a minority owner I would assume)

Just edited to the article btw

Earlier, Flemmer said both Hansen and Ron Burkle, one of the bidders being recruited by Johnson, have expressed interest in the 7 percent stake.

This could also be what the 30 million for the Maloofs is about, cause they have a right to buy the share too and in the 525 valuation that 7% is a bit over 30 million..just trying to connect the dots on that one though.

[ComboGuardCity]

They can't go out and buy it now like that though. I guarantee there is a clause in there about a time frame after a tenative agreement with a buyer. I'm pretty sure this is a push for Flemmer to get squeeze some extra money out of the deal.

[ComboGuardCity]

They can't go out and buy it now like that though. I guarantee there is a clause in there about a time frame after a tenative agreement with a buyer. I'm pretty sure this is a push for Flemmer to get squeeze some extra money out of the deal.

[bennith13]

They can't go out and buy it now like that though. I guarantee there is a clause in there about a time frame after a tenative agreement with a buyer. I'm pretty sure this is a push for Flemmer to get squeeze some extra money out of the deal.

Exactly, It's a ploy to drive up the auction price on that 7% ownership stake.

[boogie-reke]

Err, I mean, that would be pretty stupid of him seeing as it's not something people can't check.

I'd assume he's not expecting to have clowns bidding but serious business men who know and check their stuff surely when millions of dollars are being invested - saying something like this over the media and if as you claim being totally misleading on such a crucial issue won't really do him much benefit in terms of the bidding war other then deceive readers like us who aren't really in the know and understand these type of things, would it not?

If he's specifically saying that he thinks that not giving the right(that does exist) to minority owners is diminishes the value of his share, then to me it seems like something legit and that whoever gets those 7% will take upon himself that same right.

I don't see any reason for him to lie, again, unless he expects a bunch of clowns to just "trust his word" and not check it. It doesn't make any sense to me.

[boogie-reke]

KJ will hold another press conference today btw from what I understand.

[boogie-reke]

Rob McAllister ‏@Rob_McAllister
Have been told Burkle looked into bidding on Bob Cook’s 7% share of Kings in past. Had concerns of value, but Maloof sale could change that

[Cruel_Ruin]

It could come to the point where that 7% doesn't even matter. If any of the other minority investors has a first right of refusal clause, any sale agreement with Hansen would have to go through the minority owner first. And if any of the minority owners team up with KJ, Burkle, and Mastrov and match Hansen's offer, they get the team.

[catch22]

Not that it means anything either way, but KJ needs to stop having these daily press conferences with no real significant news to report. It's not helpful to anybody.

[SacTown Kings]

I find it funny that all the talk about this first right of refusal and 7% stuff is being freely talked about from the Sacramento side, yet the Maloofs or the Seattle group had no comment about it. Sounds like they got caught with their pants down as KJ might have found a loophole to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

[boogie-reke]

Maloofs won't surprise me, but I doubt Hansen is caught with his pants down.

[tru6playa]

A third "whale"???

Please be true!

King's minority owner Bob Cook told the Bee today he has asked a Bay area sports attorney to broker a meeting between Larry Ellison, the third-richest man in America, and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson in hopes of helping Johnson's effort to find a buyer willing to keep the Sacramento Kings in town.

Cook, part of the original group that brought the team to Sacramento, told The Bee today he stepped back after making an initial phone call Monday to an associate who knows Ellison, but said he believes a meeting will occur toward the end of this week.

[WhamBamSlamm]

Haha, with this right of first refusal deal, and the fact Ellison might join Burkle and Mastrov, looks like the tide is turning and the deserving and great fans of Sacramento will keep their team in the end.

Hope this leads Seattle to stop trolling the NBA for a team...

There will be no expansion in tnhe league, and no other team will move.

Bye bye

[catch22]

Haha, with this right of first refusal deal, and the fact Ellison might join Burkle and Mastrov, looks like the tide is turning and the deserving and great fans of Sacramento will keep their team in the end.

Hope this leads Seattle to stop trolling the NBA for a team...

There will be no expansion in tnhe league, and no other team will move.

Bye bye

The only one trolling is you.