he Oakland Raiders, through owner Al Davis and Raiders chief executive Amy Trask, are negotiating to sell off another percentage of the team, this time to a billionaire who has been trying to buy a franchise with designs on moving it to Los Angeles, according to league sources.
Trask has been spearheading negotiations with a group headed by C. Dean Metropoulos in a transaction that would sell at least 10 percent stake in the Raiders, sources said. Forbes Magazine has estimated the Raiders' value at a little more than $800 million, but league sources say the calculation is closer to $700 million.
The Raiders sold 20 percent of the team in October 2007 to three businessmen to get more cash infusion, which is also the goal on the latest transacton, the sources said. However, the 2007 sell-off did not give those investors an option to purchase the team and Davis remained in control as majority owner.
Metropoloulos' lead broker is trying to negotiate a purchase option on the Raiders within 3-5 years upon closing the deal, sources said.
Metropoulos had been identified previously by the Philadelphia Daily News last off-season as an aggressive buyer with a desire to relocate a franchise to Los Angeles. He has publicly denied his reported attempts, but sources confirm their veracity.
The Raiders and Jaguars were teams previously identified among those franchises and the latest round of talks with Oakland have been renewed after Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver rebuffed Metropoulos' bid because he opposed any plan to relocate the franchise, sources said.
Trask has been spearheading negotiations with a group headed by C. Dean Metropoulos in a transaction that would sell at least 10 percent stake in the Raiders, sources said. Forbes Magazine has estimated the Raiders' value at a little more than $800 million, but league sources say the calculation is closer to $700 million.
The Raiders sold 20 percent of the team in October 2007 to three businessmen to get more cash infusion, which is also the goal on the latest transacton, the sources said. However, the 2007 sell-off did not give those investors an option to purchase the team and Davis remained in control as majority owner.
Metropoloulos' lead broker is trying to negotiate a purchase option on the Raiders within 3-5 years upon closing the deal, sources said.
Metropoulos had been identified previously by the Philadelphia Daily News last off-season as an aggressive buyer with a desire to relocate a franchise to Los Angeles. He has publicly denied his reported attempts, but sources confirm their veracity.
The Raiders and Jaguars were teams previously identified among those franchises and the latest round of talks with Oakland have been renewed after Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver rebuffed Metropoulos' bid because he opposed any plan to relocate the franchise, sources said.
