Telcom Giant Rogers to Buy Toronto Raptors?

The Globe and Mail has details of the rumored mega-deal: “Rogers Communications Inc. is in talks to buy a majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, sources say. There is no deal yet for the parent of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey franchise, the Raptors basketball club and the Toronto FC soccer team, but negotiations are under way between the communications giant and Teachers, one of the country’s biggest pension funds, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. A spokeswoman for Teachers said the pension fund would not comment. Noting its long relationship with MLSE, Rogers spokeswoman Jan Innes would not comment on any potential deal, but did did note that ‘sports is an important part of Rogers and we’re always in discussions with companies to enhance the sports content we offer our customers.’ A spokeswoman for MLSE, Rajani Kamath, said her company had ‘no knowledge’ of any talks, but that that would be an issue for Rogers and Teachers, not the sports enterprise. Such a deal would vault Rogers, which already owns the Major League Baseball Toronto Blue Jays, even deeper into the major league of sports. MLSE has been valued at approximately $1.8-billion.”