Forbes.com blogger Mike Ozanian allegedly found out why Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch didn’t buy the Pistons last month. Ozanian said a “source close to the negotiations” gave him the lowdown on what’s going on with this ridiculous drama:
According to one person familiar with the negotiations, after agreeing to a price in excess of $400 million (my source was not more specific), Ilitch discovered the revenues presented in the prospectus were inflated. Ilitch, one of the great gentleman owners in sports, got pissed, lowered his offer price and the deal quickly blew up.
Pistons owner Karen Davidson reopened the bidding after Ilitch’s 30-day exclusive bargaining window ended last month. Nobody’s quite sure what the hell is going on now, but if this turns out true it would explain why a seemingly sure thing fell apart so quickly. According to Ozanian, the whole ordeal may end up with Davidson getting less than she’s hoping for:
But from what I am hearing it will now be hard for Davidson to get $400 million for the team given the Ilitch debacle and dismal state of Detroit’s economy.
Sit back and relax folks. This one looks like it’s gonna take awhile.