Rogers could build a sports empire valued at over $16.5 billion after increasing its stake to 75% in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), according to financial analysts.
Following a $4.7 billion deal to buy out Bell’s 37.5% share, Rogers will own three-quarters of MLSE, giving it control over major Toronto sports franchises including the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto Argonauts, NBA TV, Scotiabank Arena and Toronto FC.
Analysts from National Bank Financial believe Rogers could eventually spin off the combined sports assets in an initial public offering (IPO). The company might bundle the Blue Jays, Rogers Centre, and Sportsnet TV services with MLSE’s holdings, reports the Financial Post.
Telecom analyst Adam Shine believes MLSE along would be worth $12.5 billion, but would increase once the Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre and Sportsnet are lumped in, with these additions worth possibly $4 billion. Data was from the CRTC, Forbes and Sportico.
Shine believes any IPO or spinoff won’t take place for a couple of years, therefore resulting in an even higher number than $16.5 billion. The deal to acquire the stake from Bell’s parent company BCE has yet to close. In 2026, Rogers will have a chance to buy out the remaining 25% stake from partner Larry Tanenbaum and his Kilmer Group.
“Once Bell and Kilmer are taken out of MLSE, the next expected step would be for Rogers to vend-in its key sports and media assets into MLSE,” said Shine.
Vince Valentini, a telecom analyst at TD Securities, outlined a scenario where Rogers buys out both MLSE partners for about US$5.8 billion and adds the Blue Jays, valued at US$2.4 billion. Rogers would then sell 49% of the combined assets to private investors for US$5.75 billion.
“Rogers ends up with 51% control of an entity owning all the key Toronto sports teams,” Valentini noted, adding that this structure provides Rogers control and better visibility of the asset’s value going forward.
Regardless of what happens, one thing is clear—Rogers is increasingly becoming a vertically integrated company, owning sports teams, distribution, internet and mobile networks. Last week, Rogers Stadium was announced to be built next year, as part of a deal with Live Nation.
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Rogers centre is worth nothing without a tenant and it’s still a lousy stadium that still requires over a billion to fix the issues with it, Argos are not worth much probably at most 5 million