Company sold 390 of the 700 Class B units of the Fenway Sports Group that it owned to three separate buyers in a deal for $117 million. The company, which did not disclose the buyers, expects to record a pretax gain of about $64 million in the third quarter because of the sale.
The sale leaves the company with 310 shares, or about a 7 percent stake, in the Fenway Sports Group. It said it was also exploring selling those shares. Fenway owns the Red Sox; the Liverpool Football Club; about 80 percent of the New England Sports Network, a regional cable sports network that televises the Red Sox and Boston Bruins hockey games; and 50 percent of Roush Fenway Racing, a leading Nascar team.
The Times Co. paid $75 million for a 17 percent stake, or 750 units, in the Red Sox in 2002, the year John Henry acquired the team. Since then, the team has won two World Series titles and the value of the Red Sox and related properties has risen.
In addition to the Sox and Fenway Park, Fenway Sports owns the Liverpool Football Club, the English soccer team; about 80 percent of the regional cable channel New England Sports Network; and 50 percent of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team.
Last year, the Times Co. sold 50 units of Fenway Sports to Henry F. McCance, a retired venture capitalist from Greylock Partners, for a $9 million pre-tax gain. Those units went for about $280,000 each.
In today’s deal, the Times Co. said it expects to recognize a pre-tax gain of approximately $64 million, which it will report in the third quarter.
Times Co. shares were down a cent to $8.71.
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