Jim Balsillie
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| James Laurence Balsillie | |
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| Born | February 3, 1961 Seaforth, Ontario |
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James Laurence Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian Chartered Accountant and co-CEO of Research In Motion. Born in Seaforth, Ontario, he was raised in Peterborough, Ontario where his family relocated in 1966. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity. He earned an MBA from Harvard University in 1989.
Jim is also a noted athlete and passionate fitness advocate. He was Athlete of the Year at Trinity College, University of Toronto, plays hockey and golf at competitive levels, and coaches his son's soccer and basketball teams. He currently trains and competes in Men's Long Course Triathlons. Balsillie is also the Honorary Chair of the Peterborough YMCA's Building New Memories Campaign and on March 2, 2007 that same YMCA announced that the new facility they opened the previous month will forever be known as the Balsillie Family YMCA.[1]
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[edit] Hockey
[edit] Penguins Purchase
On October 5, 2006, Balsillie made a bid to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins, an NHL franchise, for US$185 million from former player Mario Lemieux and his partners.
At the Penguins' home opener that evening, Balsillie appeared in the TV booth with broadcasters Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey during the second period. Upon hearing that Errey was from Peterborough, Balsillie's hometown, Balsillie responded with an expletive that went out over live TV[1].
The announcement came at a time that the Penguins were attempting to build a new arena. The team had reached a deal with casino operator Isle of Capri Casinos, where a new $290 million privately-funded facility would be built across the street from Mellon Arena, should the company receive a slots casino license from the state of Pennsylvania.
While Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell created an alternative to the funding plan should the casino proposal fail to materialize, Balsillie said that only the Isle of Capri plan would guarantee the Pittsburgh Penguins' future in the city.
His statements drew skepticism from fans, who believed Balsillie intended to move the team to Canada. While Balsillie refused to rule a move out, he asserted his commitment to Pittsburgh, should a new arena be built.
On December 15, 2006, Balsillie withdrew his bid to buy the team[2]. He made the decision after receiving notice from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that the league would restrict Balsillie's control over the team. The move was geared at preventing Balsillie from moving the team.
Balsillie's sudden withdrawal angered Lemieux to the point that he claimed he would be able to retain Balsillie's $10 million deposit.[3] The deposit was eventually returned, perhaps in light of subsequent events - the Penguins' existing ownership eventually negotiated a new arena deal with the Pennsylvanian government, and subsequently took the team off the market.
[edit] Predators Purchase
On May 23, 2007 it was announced that Balsillie had reached a tentative agreement to buy the Nashville Predators from Craig Leipold. [4]
Balsillie had stated that he would move the Predators to Hamilton, Ontario as soon as the 2007-08 season. The Predators' attendance was 21st in the league (in terms of percentage of capacity) [5] despite finishing with one of the league's best regular season records, thus calling into question Nashville's viability as a hockey market.
There is an exit clause in the team's lease at the Sommet Center that could be activated if attendance does not improve. Leipold himself has not ruled out a re-location, but repeatedly reassured the Nashville fans that he would do everything he could to keep the team there.
It is strongly believed that Balsillie's long-term goal remains to relocate a team to Southern Ontario and that will most likely try to move the Predators at the earliest opportunity. Most speculation has circled around Hamilton, with Balsillie's new company, Golden Horseshoe Sports & Entertainment, securing exclusive rights to bring an NHL team to Copps Coliseum, as well as the rights to operate Hamilton Place, the Hamilton Convention Centre, and the associated parking facilities.[2] Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger has stated that Balsillie's intention is to bring an NHL team to Copps in Hamilton.[3] Relocating to Hamilton would almost certainly require compensation and/or residual rights to be granted to the Toronto Maple Leafs as they own territorial rights to the region. Buffalo may also demand compensation although they are out of the 80 km territorial zone set by the NHL.
On June 14, 2007 Balsillie started to accept season ticket deposits for the Hamilton Predators through Ticketmaster. He collected more than seven thousand deposits on the first day of the campaign, and within days had capped deposits for luxury boxes at 80. By June 19 Balsillie was believed to have 12,000 deposits for season tickets in Hamilton, far exceeding the Predators' current season ticket base. [6] Balsillie is said to have done this to show the NHL board of Governors that Hamilton is a viable NHL market.
However, accepting deposits from Hamilton at this stage is a risky action that some analysts have warned could backfire on Balsillie, as there are reports that members of the league's Board of Governors were upset with this decision. League policy states that one condition for a relocation to be accepted is that the new owner must make a good faith effort to keep the team in its city. Accepting season ticket deposits in another city probably goes against that standard. In addition, the NHL is said to be looking at possible legal action against Balsillie for using the Predators' name on Ticketmaster.
TSN reported on Friday, June 22, 2007, that Leipold had instructed the NHL not to consider Balsillie's application to purchase the team. A few hours later Leipold issued this statement: “We did send the NHL a letter today requesting that it not do any further due diligence on Jim Balsillie’s offer for the Nashville Predators until we reach a binding agreement. If Jim is interested in reaching a binding agreement, we are prepared to move forward.”[4]
On June 28, 2007, CBC.ca reported that Leipold has decided not to sign a binding agreement with Balsillie and that Leipold plans to sell the team to William DelBiaggio, who has the rights to the newly-completed Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.[7] This apparent move has startled some analysts since DelBiaggio's offer is said to be worth about $50 million less than Balsillie's. However, DelBiaggio himself has insisted that any sale to him will take several months to complete.
[edit] Philanthropic work
In 2000, Balsillie provided $10 million of personal funds towards the founding of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, adding to the $100 million already contributed by fellow RIM executive Mike Lazaridis.
In 2002, Balsillie founded the Centre for International Governance Innovation with $30 million of personal funds.
In 2007, Balsillie donated $50 million to the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and the Centre for International Governance Innovation as part of a $100 million initiative to create the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
[edit] Statement regarding patents
Responding to the settlement by RIM against NTP, Inc., Balsillie listed several flaws with the U.S. patent system, particularly that too many "bogus" patents are issued. He also stated that the judge in the case ignored later findings by the U.S. patent office that NTP's patents were not valid, and quoted a Newsweek article in saying that the court's treatment of RIM was like "a judge in a murder case pondering execution while ignoring DNA evidence that exonerates the accused."[5]
[edit] Resignation
On March 5, 2007, Jim Balsillie resigned his role as chairman of RIM as the firm reported over US$250 million in past stock option accounting errors after an extensive review. He retains his roles as co-chief executive and director. He was replaced by Chief Financial Officer Dennis Kavelman.[8]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Research In Motion
- ^ NHL Policies Examined, www.canada.com/nationalpost, June 6, 2007
- ^ Balsillie has deal for Hamilton arena, CBC.ca, May 31, 2007
- ^ Leipold says Balsillie deal not dead yet | Finance and Ventures | NashvillePost.com: Nashville Business News + Nashville Political News
- ^ RIM chairman calls for overhaul of U.S. patent laws, Globe and Mail, 6 April 2006
