NEW YORK -- An outside bid to buy the National Hockey League would allow team owners the chance to maintain a stake in the league, according to people close to the deal.
The provision is added incentive for team owners mulling a bid by private equity firm Bain Capital and investment firm Game Plan International to buy the 30-team league for $4.3 billion.
A spokesman for the NHL declined to comment on the deal on Wednesday.
Bain and Game Plan's offer seemed far fetched at first, with details scant and many league followers doubting that all 30 owners would agree to sell.
But stalled player contract negotiations, which forced the league to cancel the 2004-2005 season, remain at a standstill, fuelling frustration levels between players and owners.
Seems that "The Company" is reaching into deeper and more diverse pockets. Soon we will all pay tribute (and work as miners in the farthest reaches of space while we're at it).
