Bankruptcy Leaves Sacramento Kings One Step Closer to Leaving Town

A previous post discussed that Bob Cook, a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings, had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time, the trustee in the bankruptcy case was pushing for a sale of Mr. Cook’s minority share in the Sacramento Kings to Chris Hansen, who apparently wants to move the team to Seattle. Mr. Cook, who wants the Sacramento Kings to stay in Sacramento, was trying to find a backer to help match Mr. Hansen’s offer so that he could maintain his ownership.

Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. Cook was unsuccessful in finding a backer. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein recently approved the sale of Mr. Cook’s minority share to Mr. Hansen. Mr. Hansen agreed to buy Mr. Cook’s minority share for $15.1 million, and Mr. Cook was apparently unable to match this offer.

While this is not the end for the Sacramento Kings (the sale is only for a minority interest, and the NBA Board of Governors still needs to approve it), this sale puts the Kings one step closer to leaving Sacramento. This story also highlights one of the dangers of bankruptcy: once a debtor files for bankruptcy, the debtor doesn’t necessarily control what happens to his assets.

Source: Dale Kasler, The Sacramento Bee/Bellingham Herald, “Bankruptcy Judge OKs Sale of 7 Percent of Sacramento Kings to Seattle’s Hansen,” April 16, 2013.