Jim Balsillie

Jim Balsillie
Born	James Laurence Balsillie February 3, 1961 (1961-02-03) (age 50) Seaforth, Ontario, Canada[1]
Residence	Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	University of Toronto Harvard Business School
Occupation	co-CEO, Research in Motion
Net worth	$800 million (2011)[2]
Spouse	Heidi Balsillie

James Laurence "Jim" Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman and co-CEO of the Canadian company Research In Motion. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a private political organization. With an estimated net worth of $US 800 million (as of June 2011), Balsillie was ranked by Forbes as the 20th wealthiest Canadian and 692nd in the world.^[3]

Balsillie is a noted athlete and passionate fitness advocate. He was named 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.^[4]

Background

Balsillie was born in Seaforth, Ontario, and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, where his family relocated in 1966. He attended Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School which is to be shut down this year due to a controversial process. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1989. In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (FCA).

Hockey

Further information: Potential National Hockey League expansion into Canada

Balsillie has been active in his efforts to buy a National Hockey League franchise with the overt intention of moving whichever franchise he buys to Hamilton, Ontario. He has so far bid on at least three teams: Balsillie walked away from an attempt to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins after he claimed the NHL had interfered with the process. The Nashville Predators rebuffed his offers because of his desire to move the team to Hamilton, while a third offer to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes, with the same precondition, has been rejected.

Balsillie has also had discussions with the Buffalo Sabres about purchasing that team. Initially, no offer was made,^[5] but an unnamed bidder who fit Balsillie's description submitted a $259,000,000 bid for the Sabres in February 2011, contingent on moving the team out of Buffalo. Sabres owners Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn rejected the bid, instead following through on an earlier, lower bid by Terrence Pegula, who is committed to keeping the team in Buffalo.^[6] The Sabres have been one of the largest opponents of a Hamilton NHL franchise, due to concerns that a Hamilton franchise would detract from their respective fanbases.^[7]

Pittsburgh Penguins purchase bid

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, Ontario, Balsillie's hometown, Balsillie responded with an expletive, "oh man holy shit!", that went out over live TV.^[8]

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. He made the decision after receiving notice from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that the league would negotiate the arena deal on his behalf and the league also wanted the right to take over the team if necessary. In particular, Bettman required Balsillie to keep the club in Pittsburgh regardless of the arena situation.^[9] The NHL's involvement after Balsillie and Lemieux had agreed on the deal, but before the finalization of the sale, added uncertainty and excessive risk.

Balsillie's sudden withdrawal angered and embarrassed Lemieux to the point that he initially refused to return Balsillie's $10 million deposit.^[10] 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.

Nashville Predators purchase bid

On May 23, 2007, it was announced that Balsillie had reached a tentative agreement to buy the Nashville Predators from Craig Leipold.^[11]

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)^[12] despite finishing with one of the league's best regular season records, thus calling into question Nashville's viability as a hockey market.

There was an exit clause in the team's lease at the Sommet Center that could be activated if attendance does not improve. Leipold himself had not ruled out a relocation, but repeatedly reassured the Nashville fans that he would do everything he could to keep the team there.

It was strongly believed that Balsillie's long-term goal was to relocate the team to Southern Ontario and that he would try to move the Predators at the earliest opportunity. Most speculation 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.^[13] Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger had stated that Balsillie's intention was to bring an NHL team to Copps in Hamilton.^[14] Relocating to Hamilton would almost certainly have required compensation and/or residual rights to be granted to the Toronto Maple Leafs as they own territorial rights to the region. Buffalo may also have demanded compensation although they are out of the 80 km territorial zone set by the NHL.

On June 15

, 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, which exceeded the Predators' season ticket base at that time.^[15] Balsillie is said to have done this to show the NHL board of Governors that Hamilton is a viable NHL market.

TSN reported on 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.”^[16]

On June 28, 2007, CBC.ca reported that Leipold had decided not to sign a binding agreement with Balsillie.^[17]

Leipold subsequently sold the Predators to a ownership group consisting primarily of local investors. Initially this group also included one non-local investor, William "Boots" Del Biaggio. However in June 2008 Del Biaggio ran into legal trouble over a multitude of unpaid loans, culminating in him filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.^[18] Furthermore, it is alleged that Del Biaggio acquired the loans he used to buy his stake in the team through fraudulent means, prompting an FBI investigation and criminal charges.^[19]

Following the completion of the sale of the Predators, Leipold went on to assume ownership of the Minnesota Wild.

Phoenix Coyotes purchase bid

See also: Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy

On May 5, 2009, Balsillie made an offer of $212.5 million to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes following the team's filing for bankruptcy protection in Arizona. In a press release from Toronto, Ontario,^[20] the offer to purchase is conditional on relocation to Southern Ontario. At the request of the current owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, Balsillie agreed to post debtor-in-possession financing of $17.0 million U.S. dollars to allow the Phoenix Coyotes to operate in advance of a restructuring or a sale. A few hours later, the NHL removed Coyotes owner, Jerry Moyes, from all decision making regarding the future of the Phoenix Coyotes, as the NHL has had control over the team and all holdings since Moyes signed a proxy agreement. This is to be disputed in court on May 19, 2009 in Phoenix Bankruptcy Court.^[21]

Balsillie's latest efforts also include the creation of a large public relations campaign, Make it Seven, purportedly to curry favor in the court of public opinion prior to the upcoming bankruptcy hearing for the Phoenix Coyotes Organization, as represented by the NHL.^[22] The name of the campaign refers to increasing the current number of NHL franchises located in Canada to seven. Aspects of this public relations strategy include the creation of a website that accumulates signatories in favor of moving the team to southern Ontario, Canada.^[20]

On May 13, 2009, The Canadian Press reported on TSN.ca that Balsillie won the exclusive rights to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum until November after a unanimous vote by Hamilton city council. On May 29, 2009, Balsillie unveiled his plans to renovate the Coliseum into a state-of-the-art facility in anticipation of a NHL franchise coming to Hamilton.^[23]

On May 16, 2009, Balsillie welcomed Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware into the fold as his first two "anchor corporate partners."^[24]

Rulings on Coyotes

On June 15, 2009, Judge Redfield T. Baum rejected Balsillie’s bid to purchase the Coyotes.^[25][26][27] Judge Baum’s ruling included that he did not have the power to force the team to move and that Balsillie’s June 29 deadline did not give the court enough time to resolve all the issues in the case.^[25][26][27]

On August 5, 2009, Judge Baum ruled that Balsillie could take part in the auction for the team on September 10.^[28]

On September 30, 2009, Balsillie's bid was again rejected by Judge Baum, who also rejected the NHL's bid. Balsille's bid was rejected "with prejudice," so he will be unable to make another bid for the Coyotes. Balsillie stated he will not appeal the decision.^[29]

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 2001, Jim and Heidi Balsillie donated $5 million to the One Voice, One Vision campaign and the cancer center at Grand River Hospital named after them.

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.

In 2007, Balsillie became chair of the Canadian International Council.

In 2008, Balsillie was named a director of the Ontario Manufacturing Council, an Ontario government agency of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.^[30]

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."^[31]

Resignation

On March 5, 2007, 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.^[32]

Notes

1. ^ "Jim Balsillie". Waterloo Public Library. http://www.wpl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/balsillie_jim.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-03. 
2. ^ Globe and Mail news article on James Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis Accessed June 2011.
3. ^ Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires/list?country=223&industry=-1&state=. 
4. ^ Research In Motion
5. ^ Kelley, Jim. The Art of Doublespeak. Sportsnet.ca. 9 December 2008.
6. ^ http://www.wivb.com/dpp/sports/sabres_and_nhl/Golisano-turned-down-higher-bid-for-Sabres
7. ^ Fink, James. NY senators oppose NHL team in Hamilton. Business First of Buffalo. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
8. ^ [1]
9. ^ Anderson, Shelly (December 15, 2006). "Balsillie ends bid to buy Penguins". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06349/746509-100.stm. 
10. ^ [2]
11. ^ . http://news.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/Balsillie+purchasing+Predators/Sports/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=balsillie-predators&feedname=CBC-SPORTS-V2&show=True&number=5&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc. 
12. ^ [3]
13. ^ NHL Policies Examined, www.canada.com/nationalpost, June 6, 2007
14. ^ "Balsillie has deal for Hamilton arena". CBC.ca. May 31, 2007. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2007/05/31/balsillie-hamilton.html. 
15. ^ [4]
16. ^ Leipold says Balsillie deal not dead yet | Finance and Ventures | NashvillePost.com: Nashville Business News + Nashville Political News
17. ^ "Balsillie's bid to buy the Predators nixed: report". CBC.ca. June 28, 2007. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2007/06/28/balsillie-predators.html. 
18. ^ National Post story on Del Biaggio bankruptcy
19. ^ Globe and Mail story on the Del Biaggio criminal investigation
20. ^ ^{a b} Make It Seven
21. ^ Spurrier, Guy (May 5, 2009). "Balsillie bids to buy bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes". National Post. http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=1566656. Retrieved May 6, 2009. 
22. ^ On air speculation of legal advisors, and sports broadcasters, the Fan 590, CJCL
23. ^ "Jim Balsillie Unveils Dramatic Revitalization for Copps Coliseum". Social Media Release by CNW. May 29, 2009. http://smr.newswire.ca/en/jim-balsillie/jim-balsillie-unveils-dramatic-revitalization-for-copps-coliseum. 
24. ^ The Canadian Press (May 15, 2009). "Balsillie lands big corporate sponsor to help bid for Coyotes". TSN.ca. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278816. 
25. ^ ^{a b} "Judge rejects Balsillie's bid to buy Coyotes". CBC.ca. June 16, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/06/15/sp-coyotes-balsillie.html. Retrieved June 16, 2009. 
26. ^ ^{a b} McGran, Kevin (June 16, 2009). "Judge shuts Balsillie out". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/651379. Retrieved June 16, 2009. 
27. ^ ^{a b} The Canadian Press (June 17, 2009). "Bettman not surprised that Balsillie intends to forge on". TSN.ca. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282164. Retrieved June 23, 2009. 
28. ^ "Judge rules Balsillie can take part in Coyotes auction" - 570 News
29. ^ "Balsillie ends pursuit of Coyotes" - CBC.ca
30. ^ [5]
31. ^ RIM chairman calls for overhaul of U.S. patent laws, Globe and Mail, 6 April 2006
32. ^ "RIM co-CEO drops chairman title". Reuters. March 5, 2007. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0524441220070305. 

External links

• Jim Balsillie at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Austen, Ian. "First Blackberry, Now Seeking Taste of N.H.L.," The New York Times, Sunday, May 10, 2009.
• "Timeline: Jim Balsillie's bid to buy the Coyotes" at CBC.ca

Persondata
Name	Balsillie, Jim
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 3, 1961
Place of birth	Seaforth, Ontario, Canada
Date of death
Place of death