Andrew Barroway sale reportedly passed, becomes majority owner of Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes have been long due for some good news — and just in time to ring in 2015, that good news has come at long last.

The team seemed to finally be turning over a new leaf financially this fall, when Pennsylvania financier Andrew Barroway put in a bid to purchase a 51 percent controlling share of the franchise. His bid, worth an estimated $155 million, was considered a triple in financial valuation of the Coyotes since first leaving the league’s control — something the team desperately needed.

With the $155 million, it had been presumed that the team’s current owners, ICE Arizona ownership group, will finally be able to pay off the $85 million privately funded loan used to purchase the team from the NHL just over a year ago — when the sale of the team was finalized at roughly $170 million. The team would then have access to the $100 million credit line available through the NHL, which is repayable at a 4.5 percent interest rate (in comparison, the privately funded loan — provided by Fortress Investment group — was set at a 9.5 percent interest rate). Eliminating the private loan would inject nearly $9 million into the team’s revenue that previously would have been in the red; for a team under lease at their arena with a five-year opt-out clause (validated if the team loses over $50 million in five seasons or less), that $9 million is crucial.

The sale seemed like a dream come true to the franchise, who have remained under the microscope since the team’s financial collapse in 2009. All that now stood between them and an increased sense of stability was a majority approval vote from the NHL Board of Governors.

The Coyotes and Barroway haven’t had it easy this fall, as the league’s chattering and accusations grew louder with every passing week that a vote wasn’t held and the sale wasn’t announced. Huge financial transactions like this take time, but the league wanted to see immediate results — understandable, given the team’s tumultuous past and the numerous failed ownership exchanges reported over the seasons — and each week that went by without the sale being approved only seemed to confirm speculation that the deal had fallen through.

The league guaranteed that the sale would be discussed by the end of the calendar year, though, and went as far as to promise a vote by New Year’s Day — something they’ve followed through on.

According to John Shannon of Sportsnet, the electronic vote held by the NHL Board of Governors throughout December has been closed, tallied, and announced… in favor of the Barroway sale.

That’s right — Shannon reports that the Arizona Coyotes are now under majority ownership by Andrew Barroway, with an estimated team value of $305 million. That’s up nearly $100 million from where the team stood in November of 2014, when Forbes reported that the team’s estimated value was $225 million, while the team’s estimated debt valuation has likely gone down from the 56% it stood at just a few months ago.

Not bad, Arizona. Happy New Year’s indeed.

The team has insisted that they won’t adjust their payroll budget with the sale’s approval, but that could change in future seasons. This could be huge for the franchise; with multiple top-line players up for contract renewal and a decided lack of scorepower currently present, even adjusting the payroll limit by two or three million per (the budget currently sits at $59 million, nearly ten million below the league-imposed salary cap) would alter the DNA of the team considerably.

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About the author Catherine is the first American in a long line of Canadians, making her the black sheep before she even decided she wasn't going to be a Leafs fan. Her cousins may never forgive her for the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, but they're at least glad she's a rink rat, too. She's a pretty terrible goalie, but she's got a good grasp on the game from her seat on the bench.

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