Legacy, financial opportunity likely motivated Rogers for MLSE takeover: experts

Experts say rising team valuations and the desire to forge a legacy are likely at the heart of what motivated Rogers Communications Inc. executive chair Edward Rogers to bolster the company's portfolio of Toronto professional sports teams.

Experts say rising team valuations and the desire to forge a legacy are likely at the heart of what motivated Rogers Communications Inc. executive chair Edward Rogers to bolster the company's portfolio of Toronto professional sports teams.

The company's $4.7-billion deal to acquire rival telecom BCE Inc.'s 37.5 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment will give Rogers a majority control of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts and Toronto FC.

It's a move that plays into Rogers Communications' long-standing strategy to build out its sports empire, with the company already owning the Toronto Blue Jays and becoming the national NHL television rights holder a decade ago.

But the driving force behind the deal was Edward Rogers, said Richard Powers, a professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

"He's the top dog," said Powers.

"He's always wanted to be the decision-maker, and now he will be."

Edward inherited ownership of the Blue Jays following the death of his father, Ted, under whom the company bought the baseball team in 2000. Powers said that gave him "a taste of what it was like" to be a professional sports team owner.