Ron Burkle, the billionaire investor contemplating a bid to buy the Sacramento Kings and keep them in town, is also part of a group in the running to purchase arena conglomerate Anschutz Entertainment Group.
Billboard magazine reported on its website that Burkle is teaming with Los Angeles investor Patrick Soon-Shiong and investment bank Goldman Sachs on a bid for AEG.
A longtime friend of Burkle's, Los Angeles investment banker Lloyd Greif , confirmed Burkle's interest in AEG and said it would not interfere with his possible bid for the Kings.
"He can do two deals at once, he can do ten deals at once," Greif told The Bee.
Burkle is considering teaming with Bay Area investor Mark Mastrov in a bid for the team that would be presented to the NBA as a counter-offer to the Maloof family's pending sale of the franchise to a Seattle group.
Burkle has told NBA Commissioner David Stern that he's interested in a plan that would convert Downtown Plaza into a new arena.
AEG, meanwhile, could have a role to play in the Sacramento drama. The global arena operator confirmed recently, at Stern's urging, that it's still interested in building a facility in downtown Sacramento.
AEG had pledged $59 million toward construction of a new Kings arena at the downtown railyard site. The plan was approved by Stern but abandoned by the Maloofs last April.
Last month, AEG President Tim Leiweke said the company is still committed to a downtown Sacramento arena, regardless of location, if the Kings stay in town.
Billboard said Guggenheim Partners, the financial firm that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, is also in the running for AEG, as is a group led by Colony Capital and the Qatar Sovereign Fund.
The Financial Times reported that Westfield Corp. - the former owner of Downtown Plaza - is also bidding for AEG. Westfield sold the downtown mall last summer.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Dale Kasler
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.