Rogers Communications’ first-quarter financial results, announced Wednesday morning, largely matched analysts’ revenue and earnings expectations, but the stock surged almost 14% to close at $37.48 per share on guidance of lower capital spending and higher free cash flow.
Rogers also provided an update on its sports plans following its 2025 purchase of BCE’s 37.5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the parent of the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors and MLS’ Toronto FC, which gave Rogers ownership of 75% of MLSE. Rogers also separately owns MLB’s Blue Jays.
“We expect to complete the purchase of the remaining 25% minority interest in MLSE in the second half of this year,” Rogers Communications CEO Tony Staffieri said on the earnings call. “Following the close, we plan to combine our assets into one of the most significant sports ownership, media and entertainment entities globally.”
Staffieri said the company would unlock significant value and additional revenue with the sports assets under one roof. Rogers is also planning to bring in minority investors for its sports assets that Staffieri said would have a value greater than CAD $25 billion ($18.25 billion based on current exchange rates). Rogers plans to use the funds to pay down debt.
The $18.25 billion valuation has grown as sports asset valuations continue to explode. During the call, Rogers CFO Glenn Brandt highlighted the agreement for José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones to buy the San Diego Padres for $3.9 billion. Brandt said the company expects to complete the recapitalization of its sports and media group in late 2026 or early 2027 as it pursues minority equity investors.
“We’ve said for some time, we don’t need to own 100% of these assets,” Brandt said. “We do absolutely like the prospect for future growth in the assets. A key part of this transaction is to surface the value in those assets that currently are not part of the RCI share price. That is only done through that transaction.”
The remaining 25% of MLSE is owned by Larry Tanenbaum via his Kilmer Sports Ventures. Rogers has an option to buy the stake this summer.
“We’ve held significant [sports] assets with the original 37.5% in MLSE, the Jays, Sportsnet and other media assets, and we get zero credit for that today in our share valuation,” Staffieri told Sportico last year. “The thesis is to consolidate all those assets together and surface that value for Rogers’ shareholders.”
Sportico’s current valuations have the Raptors at $4.66 billion, Maple Leafs at $4.25 billion, Blue Jays at $2.9 billion and Toronto FC at $730 million; the combined total is $12.5 billion. The separate Rogers sports entity would also likely include Rogers’ sports media assets, such as Sportsnet.
Rogers and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment are the only sports conglomerates that own three or more major sports teams after Fenway Sports Group reached a deal to sell the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. But unlike KSE, and FSG previously, Rogers’ assets are all concentrated in the same locale, which can offer added synergies in the fourth-largest city in North America.
(Updated with stock price at market close.)
