Dolan family to sell Cablevision, not Madison Square Garden
The Dolan family is about to have a major shakeup in their finances. Here's more from the New York Times:
Altice, the European telecommunications giant, said on Thursday it would buy Cablevision for $17.7 billion, as the company pushes further into the fast-consolidating United States cable market.
If approved, the deal, for a company whose main operations are in the affluent suburbs of New York City, would make Altice’s expanded American operations one of the largest cable operators in the United States, in the company of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Cox Communications.
How does this relate to the Knicks? The Dolan family, namely James, runs the Knicks, who are owned by Madison Square Garden. The sale of Cablevision, though, does not affect the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty or any other MSG operations since the company spun off in 2010.
James' father, Chuck, was the controlling shareholder of Cablevision.
That $17.7 billion number is a bit misleading. Don't think it's all going to America's favorite owners. Altice will assume Cablevision's debt (about $8 billion) so Cablevision's shareholders will receive about $8 billion less than $17.7 billion. Plus, Chuck Dolan controls at or around 25 percent of Cablevision's stock and, thus, will receive at or around 25 percent of the equity in the sale.
Knicks fans have been calling for the ousting of James for years, as the Knicks continue to dwell in the bottom half of the NBA's lesser conference. Unfortunately for them, this sale won't change anything in regards to the Dolans' control over their favorite basketball team.
(h/t New York Times)
