Minority owner selling stake in Red Sox

Ad man bought share with two others for $25m

Boston Globe
May 27, 2009

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

Advertising mogul Ed Eskandarian is selling his minority stake in the
Boston Red Sox to Seth Klarman, a well known Boston hedge fund manager,
according to two people briefed on the transaction.

Eskandarian is one of a group of three Boston businessmen who together
invested $25 million in the 2002 purchase of the Red Sox, led by John
Henry and Tom Werner. Their stake at the time represented about 3.6
percent of the $700 million deal. Eskandarian, chairman of Arnold
Worldwide, a Boston advertising agency, invested about $6 million.

Klarman and Eskandarian both declined to comment. The Red Sox also
declined to comment.

However, by yesterday Eskandarian’s name had been removed from the list
of owners posted on the team website. Klarman, who runs Baupost Group in
Boston, is not listed as an owner. Major League Baseball must approve
any change in team ownership.

The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, is trying to sell
its 17.5 percent stake in the Red Sox. According to published reports,
the Times Co. believes its stake is worth $200 million, which would
value the team at $1.1 billion.

One of Eskandarian’s co-investors, TJX Cos. chairman Ben Cammarata, sold
his stake in the team in 2007. The third investor, former textile
executive Martin Trust, remains an owner.

It could not be learned yesterday what price Eskandarian is getting for
his share. Cammarata, reached by telephone yesterday, said he did not
know what a Red Sox stake would fetch today. He would not say how much
he sold his $12.5 million stake for: "It was a wonderful time and a very
good investment."

The Red Sox franchise has risen in value, to $833 million, according to
rankings created by Forbes magazine each year. The Red Sox are the third
most valuable team in baseball, behind the New York Yankees and the New
York Mets.

When David D’Alessandro, the former chief executive of John Hancock
Financial Services Inc., sold his $5 million stake in the team in 2007,
he reaped just over double his original investment, $10.3 million, the
Globe reported.

redsox/articles/2009/05/27/minority_owner_selling_ stake_in_red_sox/

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress