Put away your piggy banks, fans. The Toronto Maple Leafs are no longer up for sale.
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced on Friday that it was no longer looking to sell its ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, after weeks of heightened speculation that named Wayne Gretzky and an American investment company as potential buyers.
The OTPP owns 79.5 per cent of MLSE, the parent company of the Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto FC, as well as the Air Canada Centre and several other downtown properties.
The OTPP said in a statement that after an eight-month ownership review, it has decided to maintain its stake in the company, "which has been and continues to be a very successful investment."
Over the past several weeks, a group led by former hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky was named as a potential buyer, as well as the U.S. private equity firm Providence Equity Partners – the firm behind the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network.
Rogers Communications, which already owns the Toronto Blue Jays, has previously shown interest in buying into MLSE.
Toronto businessman Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports company owns the remaining stake of MLSE and hold first right of refusal for any sale by OTPP.
It has been estimated that MLSE is worth as much as $2 billion. Forbes.com ranked the Leafs as the most profitable franchise in the NHL last year with a value of $505 million.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, MLSE acknowledged the pension plan's decision to remain owners and said they were aware that a chance in ownership was never a foregone conclusion.
"Teachers', along with Kilmer Sports, are great owners. They have always provided our teams with the resources needed to compete on the ice, on the court and on the pitch," the statement read. "MLSE has been operating ‘business as usual' throughout this process and will continue to do so."
