Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment headquarters in Toronto. Sports leagues have approved a big by Rogers to buy Bell's stake in the franchise company.Yader Guzman/The Globe and Mail
Five sports leagues have approved Rogers Communications Inc.’s RCI-B-T $4.7-billion acquisition of BCE Inc.’s BCE-T 37.5-per-cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, moving the deal closer to completion.
On Wednesday, Rogers said it received the required clearances from the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, Canadian Football League, Major League Soccer and the American Hockey League. The deal will give it a 75-per-cent stake in the professional sports and entertainment company.
MLSE is the owner of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA’s Toronto Raptors, CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and MLS’s Toronto FC. The deal values the sports empire at $12.5-billion, a record for Canadian sports franchises.
Rogers is still awaiting approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which must clear its acquisition of an additional indirect interest in Toronto Raptors Network Ltd, a basketball television station.
Rogers previously said it expects to close the deal by the middle of 2025. The company has the right to buy the remaining quarter of MLSE from its chair, Larry Tanenbaum, in 2026.
Rogers has said securing its ownership of live sports is a crucial part of its customer retention strategy, as Canadians continue cancel their traditional television subscriptions and opt for streaming platforms instead.
In April, Rogers said it is seeking to unlock value from its portfolio of sports holdings and boost its share price, and is in active talks with investors interested in its sports assets.
Rogers chief financial officer Glenn Brandt, speaking to analysts during the company’s annual general meeting, said the company has had “significant interest from various institutional investors” seeking to invest in its sports assets and is engaged in conversations with them.
He estimated that the company’s overall sports assets would be worth $15-billion once the MLSE deal closes.
Editor’s note: A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that Rogers’ sports assets would be worth $15-million once the MLSE deal closes. The correct figure is $15-billion. This version has been corrected.