For over a month now, the Dallas Stars have reportedly been in quiet negotiations with Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi in an effort to secure a buyer as part of a prepackaged bankruptcy deal.
Tavares would not confirm details, but two sources said that Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi is moving forward with his bid and that his exclusive 30-day negotiating window has been extended.
Gaglardi is negotiating with a group of lenders who began paying the bills when Hicks Sports Group defaulted on more than $500 million in loans in March 2009. The NHL and Hicks also have roles in the negotiations.
As was the case with the Texas Rangers bankruptcy, it’s not likely that the bankruptcy trustee will allow any “sweetheart” deals to simply flow through that bankruptcy process without challenges. Even if the Dallas Stars are able to secure a buyer who agrees to help them exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy successfully, they may be forced to accept challenging bids once they are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Also, any deal to buy the team will require the stamp of approval from the bankruptcy court. Seeing that both the National Hockey League (NHL) and Hicks are involved in the prepackaged bankruptcy negotiations, it is possible that any purchase will need to be approved by them both, potentially complicating the process if there are other bidders involved.
When the Rangers faced the threat of other bidders, the MLB insisted that they had a right to have final approval or disapproval of the winning bidder in bankruptcy. That fact alone nearly turned the Texas Rangers bankruptcy into a full-fledged soap opera complete with threats from baseball fans. For the Dallas Stars sake, it is better if we avoid that type of conflict in any possible future bankruptcy filing by the team.
(source: Dallasnews.com )