Hicks Sports Group defaults on $525 million in loans

According to FinAlternatives.com, Tom Hicks' sports team holding company has defaulted on $525 million in loans related to ownership of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers.

Hicks Sports Group, which owns baseball’s Texas Rangers and hockey’s Dallas Stars, failed to make its interest payment on $525 million in syndicated bank loans on Monday. The group is now in talks with its lenders about a forbearance.

According to the source, who has seen documents relating to the loans, Hicks defaulted on a $350 million bank term loan, $100 million second-lien loan and a $75 million revolving credit facility.

Evan Grant from Inside Corner caught up with Tom Hicks and was able to get his perspective on this news.

“We’re optimistic that a satisfactory resolution will come together in the next couple of weeks with our lenders’ cooperation,” Hicks said by phone Friday morning. “The important thing is that none of this impacts either team or the fan experience at either venue. We’re prepared to fund the operations of both clubs for the next 12 months while we continue to seek additional investors.”

This should not affect the status of either team in the near future. It was reported last week that Tom Hicks was seeking investors to purchase minority shares of both teams, and that Hicks was seeking to maintain control of both franchises. However, here is the money quote from Hicks:

"We’re prepared to fund the operations of both clubs for the next 12 months while we continue to seek additional investors.”