The Boston Celtics were sold on Thursday for $6.2 billion dollars, a record for a professional franchise in the United States. Shank, of course, has a few questions about the deal:
Why not Pags? It seems odd that Steve Pagliuca’s Celtics ownership bid was turned down, and other thoughts.
Picked-up pieces while doing the math on a $360 million investment that turned into $6.1 billion . . .
⋅ Why not Pags?
This is the takeaway after Thursday morning’s news bomb, fan agita, official corporate statements, and private equity high-fiving that went on after the Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach broke the story that the Celtics have been sold to an investor group led by complete unknown William Chisholm — a North Shore native who went to Dartmouth and has pledged to “work to bring more championships home to Boston.”
Swell.
So here’s just one little question?
“Why not Pags?” I followed. “Seems to check all the boxes and would make fans super comfortable.”
“Our goal was always to take the best bid from a suitable buyer, and that’s what we did,” responded Irv Grousbeck.
So, there you go. The Chisholm group made the best offer, according to Irv Grousbeck.
And that’s that.
But this isn't as straightforward as it seems:
Pagliuca issued a statement shortly after it was learned he didn’t get the team early Thursday, stating, in part, “We made a fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price . . . We had no debt or private-equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future. We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics . . . ”
The Grousbecks did not feel that way.
The Globe has learned that the Chisholm bid was higher than Pagliuca’s.
Not seeing the offer sheets, and not knowing which package had more guaranteed financing, it’s impossible to measure the offers. That is what the Grousbecks do.
Also contributing to the muddy waters - it's not much of a secret Steve Pagliuca and Wyc Grousbeck aren't friends, to put it mildly. I think that's playing a big part in this one.
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