ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula are exploring the possibility of selling a non-controlling, minority interest in the franchise, the team announced on Friday.
The team issued this statement Friday afternoon:
"The Pegula family has retained Allen & Company to explore the potential sale of a non-controlling, minority interest in the Bills. These discussions only involve the Bills and no other team. No investment would be possible without Terry Pegula and the Pegula family maintaining a controlling interest in the team. Their continued commitment to Western New York, the new Highmark Stadium, our fans, and the other teams in their portfolio remains unchanged. Neither the team nor the Pegula family are able to comment further at this point.”
The Bills announced the Pegulas have hired Allen & Company to oversee the process, while stressing no sale would take place without the Pegulas maintaining a controlling interest in the franchise.
The Bills also announced the sale is limited only to the Bills, and not any of the Pegulas’ other holdings, which include the NHL Buffalo Sabres, the American Hockey League Rochester Americans, and National Lacrosse League franchises in Buffalo and Rochester.
The prospect of selling shares of the Bills comes at a time the franchise is facing a cash crunch with rising construction costs of the team’s new stadium being built across the street from its current facility, and scheduled to open in 2026.
The initial cost of the stadium was pegged at $1.4 billion when a preliminary agreement was struck with the state and county in March 2022. That number jumped to $1.54 billion months later and was last projected to be approaching $1.7 billion in August.
The Bills are responsible to cover any cost over-runs beyond $1.4 billion, according to terms of the agreement, which locked in the public share at $850 million.
"Inflation and particularly construction, inflation has accelerated it is much more expensive to build today than it was just three years ago," said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd. "They need to be sure they'll have enough money to build the right building that will work in in western New York for Bills fans for generations to come.'
In August, Terry Pegula chose to have the Bills and Sabres operate as separate entities by dissolving their parent company, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, in what was called a move to streamline both operations.
Ganis believes that Pegula is creating the opportunity for a minority owner, aside from raising capital for the stadium, in the event the league changes rules regarding private equity firms purchasing ownership interest of teams.
"It would appear to me that that this is getting ahead of the curve, expecting private equity be permitted, and then seeing if there's a combination of private equity firms or private equity plus individuals to come in," Ganis said.
The NFL formed a committee last September to explore the idea of allowing private equity firms to purchase minority stakes in teams. The owners are expected to vote on the measure later this year.
A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul's office told 2 On Your Side that her office was informed of the Pegula's intent to sell minority interest in the team shortly before they officially announced it to media on Friday.
The sale of Bills' shares also comes at a time when speculation continues to rise over whether the Pegulas are interested in selling the Sabres. A second person with direct knowledge of the Pegulas' plans told the AP the Sabres are not for sale.
The Pegulas, who made their fortune in the natural gas industry, have a reported net worth of $6.8 billion. They purchased the Bills for a then-NFL record $1.4 billion in 2014. Last year, Forbes listed the Bills as being valued at $3.7 billion.
Kim Pegula has been unable to fulfill her duties while dealing with significant language and memory issues after going into cardiac arrest in June 2022.
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