Is there a lead horse in the race to buy the Rams?

Published Feb. 4, 2010 at 2:47 p.m.
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...More photos »...James A. Finley - AP...

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...St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts and a group of investors are making a bid to buy the Rams, but they may not have the cash...

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There's some big news about the sale of the St. Louis Rams floating around the wires today. First, the name of the third buyer, i.e. not Checketts or the Toronto-connected group, has emerged. Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, a St. Louis U grad and owner of the CommPsych, has reportedly offered $725 million for a 100% ownership stake in the franchise. That makes him, according to the report, the leading bidder for the Rams. Of course, that ups the ante on Stan Kroenke's decision. Kroenke has to approve any offer on the Rosenbloom's share of the team, and weigh the costs of selling his 40% share under the terms of this offer. The good news about Chaifetz, for St. Louis peeps anyway, is that he sounds committed to keeping the team in St. Louis. 

Bernie Miklasz says Chaifetz is NOT a potential buyer for the Rams. Considering Chaifetz' name first surfaced in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, you have to wonder how much of it's tug-of-war over a scoop. Newspapers are dying, or so I've heard.

One of the factors that might be making Chaifetz a leading bidder is this report, that Dave Checketts does not have the cash to purchase the team. It's not known whether or not his group is looking at the Rosenbloom's 60% share or the entire team. That seems fishy since the PD's Bernie Miklasz reported Checketts had brought Texas billionaire Gerald J. Ford (no relation?) into the mix with his group. If Checketts does not have the cash, then Ford's commitment might not be all that strong. Does Checketts have the cash or not? How can he not have the money yet made it this far into the process? Wasn't his offer vetted to some extent?

Stay tuned. 

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