Toronto FC, MLSE Sold To Canadian Telecommunication Giants Rogers, Bell

TORONTO - AUGUST 28: The CN Tower looms in the background as Toronto FC fans enjoys the summer game against Real Salt Lake during a MLS game at BMO Field August 28 2010 in Toronto Ontario Canada. (Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images)

Toronto FC is certainly not the biggest part of the MLSE empire, but fans of the Reds will no doubt be relieved to have someone new making the decisions.

The company that owns Toronto FC -- MLSE -- has essentially be sold to Rogers Communication and Bell. The pair of Canadian telecommunication giants now own 75 percent of the company with the other 25 percent being owned by Larry Tanenbaum, who was part of the previous ownership group.

MLSE also owns the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs, among other teams. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan had previously been the largest stakeholder in the company, but sold its shares for a reported $1.32 billion (Canadian). Rogers already owns the Toronto Blue Jays, something this deal will have no effect on.

"This is a wonderful way of bringing media and content under the same umbrella," Rogers president Nadir Mohamed said at the news conference on Friday.

Toronto FC has long been considered one of the smaller parts of the MLSE empire, something that price tag should pretty well illustrate. Still, the company has been largely criticized for its inability to bring winning teams to almost any of their franchises, something which Toronto FC illustrates perfectly.

Since joining MLS in 2007, the Reds have never even made the playoffs. No other team in history has gone four straight years without making the playoffs and no previous expansion team ever waited longer than two years before making their first playoff appearance.

For more on this move, be sure to check out Toronto FC blog Waking the Red.