Sources: Raiders trying to sell more stake in team

Sources: Raiders trying to sell more stake in team
January 4 ESPN.com

"The 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 transactor, 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. "
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