Tom Stillman Closes Acquisition of St. Louis Blues and the Scottrade Center
Deal Announcement
10 May 2012
New York, USA, 10 May 2012 – Leading a blue-chip group of local investors, St. Louis beer distributor Tom Stillman has completed his acquisition of the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues franchise and their home ice, the Scottrade Center. The transaction closed yesterday and was announced this morning by Mr. Stillman and Gary Bettman, the Commissioner of the National Hockey League, at a Press Conference at the Scottrade Center, where they were joined by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.
"St. Louis hockey fans have got themselves a great new owner," said veteran sports dealmaker Jim Rossiter of Baker & McKenzie, who acted on the acquisition for Mr. Stillman. "Tom’s enthusiasm for the sport is unsurpassed except perhaps by his love for the Blues franchise and his home town of St. Louis. It is a winning combination."
"We are honored and humbled to take ownership of the St. Louis Blues,” said Stillman. “Our new ownership group is 100 percent local, and we are 100 percent committed to the Blues and to St. Louis. We see the Blues as an important civic institution, and we know what the Blue Note means to this city and to the best fans in the NHL.”
Mr. Stillman is chairman and CEO of Summit Distributing, a St. Louis-based beer distributor. Summit is the second largest beer distributor in Missouri.
Baker & McKenzie deployed a team of lawyers in New York, Dallas and Toronto to complete the transaction. The same Baker team also recently led the successful acquisition of the Dallas Stars and 50% of the American Airlines Center in Dallas for Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi.
Baker & McKenzie congratulates Mr. Stillman and wish him, the St. Louis Blues and all of the investor team every success.
About the St. Louis Blues
The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues," and plays in the Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis. The franchise has had many great players wear the blue, white and gold colors over the years, including such legends as Glenn Hall, Al McIniss, Brendan Shanahan, Adam Oates, Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky. The Blues concluded the 2011-12 season with 109 points, winning the Central Division in the Western Conference and finishing second overall in the NHL. The team advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals and has a solid core of talented players poised for a strong future.