Hmmm... what will Fisher do with his new cash on hand.... Maybe he got approval to build the academy facility at the fairgrounds and wants to use the Quakes equity to build it? Maybe the new GM wants the money to buy DPs? Maybe Fisher wanted to buy a new yacht?
I didn’t think he would sell but with all the potential owners wanting into the league , I’m sure someone will buy it. In retrospect , a potential sale may be one of the reasons on why he canned Fioranelli midseason. Let’s just hope the next owner or part owner will be more involved.
I don't think there's really much to see here. Only a couple of years ago Fisher bought up Wolff's shares of the team, so it makes a lot of sense that Fisher would be looking to find a partner similar to what he had with Wolff. A minority stake owner who is more of a public figure for the club so he can keep his name out of everything and deflect criticism away.
There’s also speculation on Twitter that Fisher wants to sell 1% shares. So he retains decision-making but gets a lot of pocket change
Maybe it’s just a way to fill the moat. A five-year season ticket comes with an ownership certificate suitable for framing!
I suspect Scott is right on the Fairgrounds' Project. It can't be a coincidence that the Quakes just met with them last week and now this is announced. In the proposal the Quakes had offered to build the facility on their own dime. I think they just wanted a sweetheart lease for the land in exchange for adding playing fields for public use. Might the 49ers invest to help fund the project and get good PR for building public soccer fields?
Selling limited partnership shares can be a way to raise capitol for some project, or it can be a way just to cash in on some of the increased value of the franchise. Also if he can get any celebrities to buy tiny fractions, that can be used for publicity (as in all the LAFC "owners" or Matthew McConaughey in Austin). None of it really changes who's in charge or how he operates.
It may change how Fish operates in at least minor ways - the ways that you mention: Fish might "use" the celebrities for publicity for his franchise, and he might be more inclined to fund the projects for which he might be raising capital. Those are not sea changes, but both of those things would be positives for the Quakes. Baby steps...
I wonder if there's an A's angle to this? i.e. having the firm also look into selling LP's for the A's? Then you could use the cash from Quakes/A's shares to finally pay off the Giants for the $#@! rights to San Jose!..since Oakland isn't happening and ownership probably isn't to keen on Vegas. Hopefully some big local fish look into investing in the Quakes (A's): York/Niners, Sharks, Steph Curry (Lol).
Steph Curry may be a long shot, but he has been to a Quakes game, though I think it was before he got really famous.
Moelis & Company arranged the sale of a minority interest in the Chicago Fire in 2018 to Mansueto Sports. Subsequently, Joe Mansueto became the sole owner of the Fire in 2019. I don’t think anyone knows what percentage of the Quakes Fisher owns. Maybe Lew Wolf is still a minority owner and wants his interests cashed out. Maybe Fisher already bought out Wolf, and is now looking to add heavyweight investors to grow this team to its potential. I can only hope that’s the case. https://www.moelis.com/transactions...bs-sale-of-a-49-stake-to-mansueto-sports-llc/
I feel confident that Fisher owns more than 90% of the team and that he bought Wolff's shares out at the same time that he bought him out of the A's (making it more likely that he owns at least 95%). That's why I posited that Fisher is looking for an investor for about the same amount of control that Wolff had, which was not much. I wouldn't look at the Fire for a direct comparison here. The Fire's situation with their stadium was a huge issue and no matter what they did, the owners were going to have to shell out tons of money just to play games for the foreseeable future. I can see why an existing owner would want out of that deal. Fisher is in total control of the Quakes, including its stadium, which is a whole other source of revenue on its own, Quakes or no Quakes. I really think all this is is a minor influx of cash and getting an owner who will be a bit more hands on, since Fisher seems to have little desire to be personally involved. Basically, he only wants to have to talk to another owner about the team, and let that other owner deal with the rest of the org.
I think you are right. From what I remember hearing, Wolff only owned 10-15%, and was then bought out. We can only speculate how much percentage Fisher is willing to relinquish now.
Wolff owned a small slice of the team, but he was the Managing General Partner. Fisher bought out all of Wolff’s shares some years back. But I think that Keith Wolff might own a small slice of the team. I believe that Keith is still involved in the organization, but don’t quote me. An infusion of cash would be good on half a dozen levels, but I’m not going to get excited until I see some actual progress. Go Quakesfans!! - Mark
Just thinking back but wasn’t it Soccer Silicon Valley who recruited both Fisher and Wolff to come in with an expansion club when AEG hijacked our team to Houston in 2005? Just curious....
I thought the story was that Phil Anschutz suggested to Lew that he look into owning a San Jose team.