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The chances of Alex Shnaider buying Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment are as slim as those of the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup, according to a source in the banking community.
"I wouldn't put much credence in it," the source said of a Toronto Star report that Mr. Shnaider, a Russian-born businessman who lives in Toronto, was considering a bid for control of MLSE, which owns the Leafs, the Toronto Raptors basketball team, soccer franchise Toronto FC, Leafs TV and Raptors TV.
The problem for Mr. Shnaider, even if he could raise the money to buy MLSE, which is estimated to be worth more than $1.5-billion, is that none of the company's shareholders can sell their interests to anyone who happens along.
MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum has the right of first refusal on the shares of the other owners - the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, CTVglobemedia and TD Capital, a division of TD Bank, the source said. Richard Peddie, president of MLSE, said all of the shareholders have the right to buy the shares of any other owner. However, Mr. Peddie said, none of the owners is willing to sell right now.
