NHL Approves Sale of Mighty Ducks

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The National Hockey League’s Board of Governors approved Walt Disney Co.’s sale of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to Broadcom Corp. Chairman Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan.


Financial terms were not disclosed, although news reports estimated that the Samuelis paid around $75 million for the Ducks and Disney Ice, the team’s practice rink.


Samueli, also the co-founder and chief technical officer of Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom, agreed to purchase the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in late February for $65 million to $75 million, far below the $150 that Walt Disney Co. was asking when the team was put on the market in 1999. It was also below the $108 million value placed on the team last year by Forbes magazine. The Samuelis bought the team during the lockout that canceled last year’s NHL season.


The team officially changed hands on Thursday when representatives from the NHL’s 30 teams signed off on the deal.


Henry and Susan Samueli own H & S; Ventures of Newport Beach. Its Anaheim Arena Management LLC unit manages the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim where the Ducks play. The city of Anaheim owns the arena.


Disney acquired the expansion franchise in 1992 for $50 million, naming it after a team featured in the company’s “Mighty Ducks” series of films.

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