Thursday, March 14, 2013

AEG and LA Live Are No Longer For Sale - and Tim Leiweke No Longer Has a Job

While Philip Anschutz taking the entire AEG international empire off the market is not a huge shock - after all he said he would only sell it if he got his price - and it was becoming apparent that wasn't going to happen. But for AEG President and CEO - and public face for AEG - Tim Lieweke to concurrently leave the company he had built - now that's a shock.  Particularly everyone seemed to think that whoever bought the company would keep him on.

On the other hand - maybe that's why he left - if he was the one who made that decision (though the phrase 'jointly decided to leave' makes it sound otherwise.  But maybe he was doing to be able to become a partner with one or more of the new owners and - when he saw that wasn't going to happen - resigned to find another opportunity with an ownership option.  And maybe it was a joint decision if Anschutz knew that while also knowing that he was not never going to give up a chunk of a family owned business - so he and Leiweke each realized now was best for  to go on his own

My two other immediate thoughts are this might make the NFL more like to agree to move a football team to Downtown LA - which would mean a new stadium and a newly enlarged convention center.  Second, there is a lot of money that was in a holding patter to see if it would get AEG - and some of that money might now decided to go into one of the pools to buy the LA Times.

Here is the opening of the KPPC post:  

Anschutz: AEG no longer for sale; Leiweke out

AP and Ed Joyce with Brian Watt | 
L.A. Event Center and NFL Stadium Press Conference

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Billionaire Philip Anschutz says he is pulling AEG off the market and the company that owns the Los Angeles Kings and the Staples Center is no longer for sale. Photo: Tim Leiweke, former president and CEO of AEG during an event announcing naming rights for the new football stadium Farmers Field at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 1, 2011.
Billionaire Philip Anschutz says he is pulling AEG off the market and the company that owns the Los Angeles Kings and the Staples Center is no longer for sale.
Anschutz said in a statement Thursday that he had made clear that he wouldn't sell the company unless the right buyer came forward. He says he will resume a more active role in the company and Tim Leiweke, who has served as president and CEO since 1996  is leaving AEG "by mutual agreement," according to the statement. 
“We appreciate the role Tim has played in the development of AEG, and thank him for the many contributions he has made to the company. We wish him well in his new endeavors," said Anschutz.
The statement said Anschutz, as Chairman of AEG, will resume a more active role in the Company, with a particular focus on the company’s world-wide strategy and operations.
Dan Beckerman will assume the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, according to the AEG statement. Mr. Beckerman joined AEG over 15 years ago and previously served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

The sports and entertainment company was expected to fetch billions of dollars.
AEG's holdings also include the Los Angeles Galaxy, part-ownership of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, and major entertainment and real estate holdings in Los Angeles.
AEG also is spearheading a stadium proposal to bring back a professional football team to Los Angeles.
“From the very beginning of the sales process, we have made it clear to our employees and partners throughout the world that unless the right buyer came forward with a transaction on acceptable terms we would not sell the Company” said  Anschutz.

More and the press release from AEG here. 
at

2 comments:

  1. Greg Nelson1:27 PM

    If the plans called for an enlarged convention center, how much more square footage would it have, not counting the football stadium?

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  2. Brady Westwater3:12 PM

    The biggest problem LA has had in getting major conventions is that the convention center was built in phases as different buildings and we can not offer the larger spaces that increasing number of conventions require. Nor does out convention center have a ballroom.

    So with the old West Hall being demolished for the football stadium - that will allow for the huge new hall that replaces it to directly connect with an existing newer hall - which will add about 190,000 of contiguous space - making it far more attractive to major trade shows and conventions.

    And yet, due to the efficient use of space in the design, it will also allow for the construction of new ballroom - and almost all of which can be done within the footprint that currently exists, potentially reducing - or at least maintaining energy and maintenance costs.

    And with the increase in major conventions that happened after the new hotels started construction - that proved that facilities do matter. We built the hotels needed for a certain size convention - and they immediately started booking.

    So there is no reason why the conventions that have avoided LA because we did not have a hall big enough for them, will not start booking in LA once we do have a large enough - and modern space to host them. All p
    aid for by AEG.

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