Posted: 9/25/2003, 4:09 pm
The source is a london newspaper article
Russian billionaire negotiating to buy Canucks: reports VANCOUVER (CP) - The president of the Vancouver Canucks has denied reports that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is negotiating to buy the NHL team. Despite the denial, reports on a possible NHL purchase by Abramovich were carried Thursday in several newspapers. Abramovich's net worth is estimated at $18.3 billion Cdn. He has rocked the soccer world in recent months by buying English Premier League soccer club Chelsea and spending more than 100 million pounds ($220 million Cdn) on star players. Seattle businessman John McCaw has been attempting to sell the Canucks for three years, and president Stan McCammon insists he prefers to find local investors. "John's thrust has always been that we would like to find local ownership because we think that works best for the franchise," he said. "Our position hasn't changed recently." But money talks, and Abramovich is loaded. He is selling his 50 per cent stake in Russia's biggest aluminum company to buy the Canucks, reports the Russian newspaper Vedomosti. Negotiations are being conducted with "senior figures" of the team, it says. Russian-born NHL players spending the summer in their homeland heard rumours of a possible purchase by Abramovich of an NHL team that would be stocked entirely with Russian players. Most of the millionaire players know Abramovich. Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Viacheslav Fetisov, who now holds a government sport ministry position, is a friend and would have an interest in becoming involved in management of any team Abramovich might buy. "It wouldn't hurt to have our own, wholly Russian team in the National Hockey League," says Fetisov. "It would stir up more interest." Abramovich, 36, said to be Russia's second-richest man, already owns two sports franchises - Avangard Omsk of the Russian elite league, and Chelsea of England's premier soccer league. He's spending big to make both clubs winners. He's recently signed Oleg Tverdovsky, a defenceman with the Stanley Cup-champion New Jersey Devils last spring, to play for Omsk. He spent $313 million to purchase Chelsea last year and another $248 million signing international stars to turn that club into a powerhouse. "He is a boy who wants to enjoy himself," Moscow-based political analyst Sergei Markov told the London Evening Standard. "He's got all his money and now he has decided to buy a lot of toys." Abramovich, who has cashed in big on oil, avaiation and television properties besides aluminum, is said to have turned his sights to the Canucks after talks to buy the Dallas Stars failed. Russian authorities are investigating his business empire for any evidence of tax evasion, which is seen as a chief reason why Abramovich is divesting himself of financial interests in his homeland and spending most of his time in Britain. © The Canadian Press, 2003© The Canadian Press, 2003
Russian billionaire negotiating to buy Canucks: reports VANCOUVER (CP) - The president of the Vancouver Canucks has denied reports that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is negotiating to buy the NHL team. Despite the denial, reports on a possible NHL purchase by Abramovich were carried Thursday in several newspapers. Abramovich's net worth is estimated at $18.3 billion Cdn. He has rocked the soccer world in recent months by buying English Premier League soccer club Chelsea and spending more than 100 million pounds ($220 million Cdn) on star players. Seattle businessman John McCaw has been attempting to sell the Canucks for three years, and president Stan McCammon insists he prefers to find local investors. "John's thrust has always been that we would like to find local ownership because we think that works best for the franchise," he said. "Our position hasn't changed recently." But money talks, and Abramovich is loaded. He is selling his 50 per cent stake in Russia's biggest aluminum company to buy the Canucks, reports the Russian newspaper Vedomosti. Negotiations are being conducted with "senior figures" of the team, it says. Russian-born NHL players spending the summer in their homeland heard rumours of a possible purchase by Abramovich of an NHL team that would be stocked entirely with Russian players. Most of the millionaire players know Abramovich. Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Viacheslav Fetisov, who now holds a government sport ministry position, is a friend and would have an interest in becoming involved in management of any team Abramovich might buy. "It wouldn't hurt to have our own, wholly Russian team in the National Hockey League," says Fetisov. "It would stir up more interest." Abramovich, 36, said to be Russia's second-richest man, already owns two sports franchises - Avangard Omsk of the Russian elite league, and Chelsea of England's premier soccer league. He's spending big to make both clubs winners. He's recently signed Oleg Tverdovsky, a defenceman with the Stanley Cup-champion New Jersey Devils last spring, to play for Omsk. He spent $313 million to purchase Chelsea last year and another $248 million signing international stars to turn that club into a powerhouse. "He is a boy who wants to enjoy himself," Moscow-based political analyst Sergei Markov told the London Evening Standard. "He's got all his money and now he has decided to buy a lot of toys." Abramovich, who has cashed in big on oil, avaiation and television properties besides aluminum, is said to have turned his sights to the Canucks after talks to buy the Dallas Stars failed. Russian authorities are investigating his business empire for any evidence of tax evasion, which is seen as a chief reason why Abramovich is divesting himself of financial interests in his homeland and spending most of his time in Britain. © The Canadian Press, 2003© The Canadian Press, 2003
