By Adriano Marchese
Rogers Communications is buying out the final portion of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment from Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports for 4.35 billion Canadian dollars ($3.06 billion), giving the telco total control of Canada's lucrative sports empire.
The transaction--which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year and will require league approvals in order to go through--consolidates full ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and the Scotiabank Arena under Rogers.
Until recently, MLSE was jointly owned by Canada's two biggest rival telecom companies, Rogers and BCE, alongside Canadian billionaire businessman Larry Tanenbaum.
In 2024, Rogers agreed to buy out Bell's 37.5% stake for C$4.7 billion, bringing its ownership to a controlling 75%. When the deal closed, Rogers secured an option to buy out Tanenbaum's remaining 25% as well. The company had said it planned to make the move for the rest of the business sometime in 2026.
By buying out Tanenbaum, Rogers plans to combine MLSE with the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and Sportsnet, the company's sports-media brand, into a single sports-and-media powerhouse.
The media unit has been a major driver of revenue growth for Rogers. In its most recent quarter ended March 31, its enlarged 75% stake in the MLSE contributed C$988M--up 82% from the prior year, and helping to lift the company's total revenue by 10% in the quarter.
Part of the plan for MLSE has been for Rogers to sell a minority stake in the consolidated sports, media and entertainment business. The company said it intends to do so over the course of the next year.
Rogers shares were up 2.2% to C$46.06 in late-morning trading.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com