AEG, Owner Of Staples Center, To Be Sold

Los Angeles Businessman, Guggenheim To Make Bid For AEG, According To Report

Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles billionaire, will lead an investment group in a bid to purchase the newly available Anschutz Entertainment Group, the notable sports and real estate company that owns Staples Center, according to a Reuters report.

Soon-Shiong's wealth is valued at over $7.2 billion. He is said to have united with a private equity firm, Guggenheim Partners, in a plan to make a bid for the corporation. Guggenheim recently led a group that included Magic Johnson in the successful sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

AEG controls the Los Angeles Kings in addition to Staples Center and over 120 other sports and entertainment venues around the world.

The news is significant because Soon-Shiong is a sports fan who owns part of the Los Angeles Lakers and is thought to be a major proponent of bringing a NFL franchise to Los Angeles, according to sources.

A former UCLA professor and surgeon, he started and sold two pharmaceutical companies for a combined $8.6 billon and is the wealthiest person in Los Angeles according to Forbes Magazine.

For more on this developing story, be sure to stick to this Story Stream.

L.A.'s Richest Man Interested In Buying AEG, Per Report

Los Angeles-based billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong could be an early front-runner in purchasing part or all of AEG, the sports and entertainment company that owns L.A. Live and the Staples Center, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.

Soon-Shiong made a failed effort to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this year and is a minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. A source close to the situation reported that Soon-Shiong has already had a meeting with Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson as a possible partner.

Soon-Shiong is a former surgeon and biotech investor, who founded drug developer Abraxis BioScience Inc. His net worth was said to be $7 billion last year by Forbes Magazine, making him the richest man in L.A.

AEG is a subsidiary of the The Anschutz Corporation, who aside from their stake in L.A. Live has their hand in the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, MLS' Los Angeles Galaxy and other entertainment venues such as Portland's Rose Garden.

For more on this developing story, make sure to stick with our StoryStream.

AEG Sale Will Not Affect NFL's Return To Los Angeles

The proposed sale of AEG wil not affect the pursuit of bringing an NFL team to Los Angeles, both an AEG representative and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on Tuesday.

AEG owns Staples Center and has been in talks with the city of building a stadium to house a NFL team as part of the L.A. Live complex, which includes Staples Center, the Nokia Theater and the L.A. Convention Center.

Mayor Villaraigosa said he has known about the potential sale of AEG for quite some time, but he also doesn't expect a change in ownership to affect the planned construction of a downtown NFL stadium. City Councilwoman Jan Perry also said the taxpayers' interests would be watched after, and that any potential buyer will have the same obligations as AEG.

The Los Angeles City Countil is 10 days away on a vote for a $1.5 billion deal with AEG for a stadium and renovations to the Convention Center.

Tim Leiweke, AEG's CEO, said in a statement that the new owner of AEG will have a "historic opportunity to benefit from AEG's strategy to reunite Los Angeles with the NFL."

AEG Sale Price Could Top $2 Billion, According To Report

The sale of the AEG Group, which owns Staples Center as well as stakes in the Los Angeles Kings and Galaxy, could fetch a total price of $2 billion sources told The Fourth Period.

Anschutz Corp., which is owned by Denver-based billionaire Philip Anschutz, announced it was putting AEG up for sale on Tuesday. The sale includes all the group's various sports and entertainment assets, with Staples Center, stakes in the Kings and Galaxy, the O2 Arena in London and the Coachella Music Festival among the most notable.

An internal memo to AEG employees said the sale would have no impact on their jobs and that all AEG executives would remain in their roles through the completion of the sale.

"This decision reflects the attractiveness to a new owner of the significant growing global demand for live sports and entertainment and our unique strategic platform in this space to further maximize the AEG Value proposition," related the Kings' NHL Board of Governors representative.

The Fourth Period also reports that an NHL executive said that the sale will have no effect on the CBA talks between the NHL and the players association.

The Staples Center is part of the L.A. Live center in downtown Los Angeles, and houses the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Sparks.

AEG, Owners Of Staples Center, To Be Sold

The owners of the Staples Centers announced on Tuesday they are putting the building up for sale.