Sure, Greenberg and Ryan have made a deal with Hicks, but they’re not the only ones that matter. According to Sports Business Journal, a hedge fund called Monarch Alternative Capital -- which came in late in the game and bought up a bunch of Hicks Sports’ Group’s debt when they nearly defaulted on their obligations last summer -- has yet to sign off. And they may not, because they think that Hicks passed up a better offer: from Houston businessman Jim Crane.
SBJ is saying that Monarch is “unlikely” to scuttle the deal, but that it has a reputation for “going to the mat” for the last dollar. They’re also none too pleased with the fact that Hicks is still going to end up owning part of the team post-sale, making him a buyer and a seller.
Because Monarch is essentially a debt vulture, it may not get much sympathy from the banks and everyone who matters here on the pure dollars of it all. But I continue to think that they have an excellent point regarding Hicks being on both sides of the deal. That has stunk to me from the get-go, and I have no idea why, if there were better offers than Greenberg’s, his partners in Hicks’ Sports Group and others haven’t raised a stink about it.