Anschutz Entertainment Group Up For Sale

September 19, 2012

Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns and operates numerous sports facilities on both sides of the pond, including the Staples Center and the 02 Arena, has been put up for sale by its parent company.

Blackstone Advisory Partners, which recently managed the $2bn sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club, has been hired as an adviser to aid Anschutz Co. sell the subsidiary for a price that could reach into the billions.

Cannon Harvey, President of Anschutz Co, said: “This is an appropriate time to transition AEG to a new qualified owner. This process represents a unique opportunity to maximise value for all concerned.”

AEG currently own and operate numerous sport franchises, such as the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings, Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy and has a stake the National Basketball Association franchise Los Angeles Lakers, but the sale would raise questions over a potential National Football League franchise back in Los Angeles.

Despite the proposed sale, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa believes that the prospect of an NFL franchise in the city will not change.

He said: “I have worked with both Phil Anschutz and Tim Leiweke for years to bring a football team to Los Angeles.

“I speak to both of them on a regular basis and I have known about this potential sale for some time. I have the commitment from both of them that this won’t affect plans for an NFL team to return to Los Angeles in the near future and so will not affect my support for moving ahead with Farmers Field.”