Kirkendall Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Owners of more than half of the Cincinnati Reds have put their shares up for sale.The Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust, local businessman George Strike and a unit of Gannett Co. Inc. will seek a buyer for their stake, which combined totals 51.5 percent of the club, they said this morning. Gannett owns the Enquirer.The sale shouldn’t affect operating control of the Reds. Chief executive officer Carl Lindner, whose family and Cincinnati-based insurance company American Financial Group Inc. control about 37 percent, remains in that job until he resigns.The selling group has hired a New York investment banking company that has handled sales of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers in recent years. Allen & Co. will prepare financial information, which it will show to any interested suitor that gains approval from Major League Baseball.Lindner and William Reik, a Northern Kentucky native and investment manager in New York who controls about 11 percent of the team, will have a right to match any offer for the selling shares. But first, a buyer must sign a definitive agreement to buy, which should be months away.“I enjoy my ownership in the Reds and am looking forward to a great 2005 season,” Lindner said in a statement. He did not immediately return calls seeking further comment.Carter Randolph, spokesman for the Nippert Trust, said the timing was right for a sale of the trust’s shares.“While we have all enjoyed our association with the Reds over many years, for personal reasons we have concluded that this is the right time for us to sell,” Randolph said in a press release this morning.A sale could bring more than $100 million for the one-half stake, considering that the Brewers’ sale last year valued the entire club at about $220 million. Cincinnati should be valued at more than that, said Steve Greenberg, managing director of Allen & Co.Assets of the club include the two-year-old Great American Ball Park, a long tradition and the revenue-sharing agreement signed last year between baseball players and owners.“You’re not going to get the same price in Cincinnati as you would get in Boston, New York or Los Angeles,” Greenberg said. “But in the relative sense, the value of the Reds is much higher than it was three years ago or five years ago.”A group led by Lindner bought the controlling stake in the Reds from former owner Marge Schott in 1999 for $67 million after Schott was forced to sell by Major League Baseball. He was installed as CEO and has run the club since then.This year, he has added about $17 million to the club’s payroll with several free-agent signings, adding significantly to the club’s chances to compete with clubs from bigger cities.http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...8002/1071/rss08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I say let's get a collection going. I'll make them forget all about Marge Schott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted March 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I've got $5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 thank god its being sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I've got $5I'll match that, but you're! going to have to be the one to deal with Carl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whur CHad At? Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 i got $1.37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Allright, I'm already working on acquiring Pujols Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whur CHad At? Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 We don't need a first baseman, we got THE Sean Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turningpoint Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 wierd i know Carter Randolph personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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