NBA approves $6.1bn sale of Boston Celtics
"The transaction is expected to close shortly."
Chisholm is the managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group. When he and his co-investors agreed to purchase the storied Celtics franchise "at an initial valuation of $6.1 billion," that was the highest ever offered for a North American sports team.
It has since been surpassed by the $10 billion sale, in June, of the Los Angeles Lakers by the Buss family to billionaire Mark Walter.
When the Celtics sale was announced, it was stated that Wyc Grousbeck would continue in his roles of chief executive officer and governor, overseeing team operations through the 2027-28 season.
The Grousbeck family and Steve Pagliuca purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002.
But US media reported this week that Chisholm -- a Massachusetts native who calls himself a "die-hard Celtics fan" -- will assume the role of governor because under the terms of the deal, Grousbeck will no longer have the required 15% ownership stake the league requires to hold that role.
Nevertheless, ESPN reported that Chisholm and Grousbeck "plan to run the team together as originally planned."
The Celtics are one of the most storied in the NBA's history, with a record 18 championships, the most recent in 2024.
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France 24
10 minutes ago
- France 24
Canadian government intervenes in Air Canada flight attendant strike
Canada's government forced Air Canada and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration Saturday after a work stoppage stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said now is not the time to take risks with the economy while announcing the intervention. It means the 10,000 flight attendants will return to work soon. "The talks broke down. It is clear that the parties are not any closer to resolving some of the key issues that remain and they will need help with the arbitrator,' Hajdu said. Hajdu said the full resumption of services could take days, noting it is up to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The shutdown of Canada's largest airline early Saturday is impacting about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The bitter contract fight between the airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Keelin Pringnitz, from Ottawa, was returning with her family from a European vacation when they became stranded at London's Heathrow Airport after flights were canceled. She said there was an option for the travelers in line to go the United States, but they were told there wouldn't be any further assistance once they landed in the U.S. 'It didn't go over well with the line. Nobody really seemed interested, everybody seemed a little bit amused almost at the suggestion, or exasperated, because it is a bit ridiculous to offer to take stranded passengers to a different country to strand them there,' she said. Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation. Now their $8,000 trip with nonrefundable lodging is in doubt. They had a Saturday night flight to Nice, France, booked. Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Ian Lee, associate professor, Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, earlier noted the government repeatedly intervenes in transportation strikes. 'They will intervene to bring the strike to an end. Why? Because it has happened 45 times from 1950 until now,' Lee said. 'It is all because of the incredible dependency of Canadians.' Canada is the second-largest country in the world and flying is often the only viable option. 'We're so huge a country and it's so disruptive when there is a strike of any kind in transportation,' Lee said. The government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union last year during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. The Business Council of Canada has urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full 'due to the summer travel peak.' Laroche said he considered booking new flights with a different carrier, but he said most of them are nearly full and cost more than double the $3,000 they paid for their original tickets. Laroche said he was initially upset over the union's decision to go on strike, but that he had a change of heart after reading about the key issues at the center of the contract negotiations, including the issue of wages. 'Their wage is barely livable,' Laroche said. Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. 'We are heartbroken for our passengers. Nobody wants to see Canadians stranded or anxious about their travel plans but we cannot work for free," said Natasha Stea, a Air Canada flight attendant and local union president. The attendants are about 70% women. Stea said Air Canada pilots, who are male dominated, received a significant raise last year and questioned whether they are getting fair treatment. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, that it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.' But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn't go far enough because of inflation. 'We're the national carrier and we have people operating in poverty. Like that's disgusting, that's very problematic,' Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, said at a news conference.
France 24
11 hours ago
- France 24
Air Canada flight attendants strike over pay, grounding service
Air Canada's flight attendants went on strike Saturday, as the airline announced a complete shutdown of operations, creating summer travel chaos for its 130,000 daily passengers. "We are now officially on strike," the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada's 10,000 flight attendants, said in a statement. Air Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had "suspended all operations" in response to the work stoppage. "Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport," it said, adding that it "deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers." CUPE was in a legal position to strike as of 12:01 am (0401 GMT), after delivering a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. The strike began at 12:58 am, both sides confirmed. Air Canada had been gradually winding down operations ahead of the possible labor action. As of 8:00 pm Friday, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers. Its full 700-flight daily schedule has been scrapped for Saturday. Unpaid ground work In addition to wage increases, the union says it wants to address uncompensated ground work, including during the boarding process. Rafael Gomez, who heads the University of Toronto's Center for Industrial Relations, told AFP it is "common practice, even around the world" to compensate flight attendants based on time spent in the air. He said the union had built an effective communication campaign around the issue, creating a public perception of unfairness. An average passenger, not familiar with common industry practice, could think, "'I'm waiting to board the plane and there's a flight attendant helping me, but they're technically not being paid for that work,'" he said, speaking before the strike began. "That's a very good issue to highlight," Gomez further said, adding that gains made by Air Canada employees could impact other carriers. Air Canada detailed its latest offer in a Thursday statement, specifying that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would on average make CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027. CUPE has described Air Canada's offers as "below inflation (and) below market value." The union has also rejected requests from the federal government and Air Canada to resolve outstanding issues through independent arbitration. Gomez said he did not expect any stoppage to last long. "This is peak season," he said. "The airline does not want to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue... They're almost playing chicken with the flight attendants." Canada 's economy, though showing resilience, has begun feeling the effects of President Donald Trump 's trade war, with his tariffs hitting crucial sectors like auto, aluminum and steel. In a statement issued before the strike began, the Business Council of Canada warned an Air Canada work stoppage could add further pain. "At a time when Canada is dealing with unprecedented pressures on our critical economic supply chains, the disruption of national air passenger travel and cargo transport services would cause immediate and extensive harm to all Canadians," it said.
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
Air Canada set to shut down over flight attendants strike
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada's 10,000 flight attendants, was in a legal position to strike as of 12:01 am (0401 GMT), after delivering a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. The public broadcaster CBC reported the labor action could begin around 1:00 am if no last-minute deal is reached. Air Canada, which transports about 130,000 passengers daily, had said it would gradually wind down operations ahead of the possible strike. As of 8:00 pm Friday, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers. In addition to wage increases, the union says it wants to address uncompensated ground work, including during the boarding process. Rafael Gomez, who heads the University of Toronto's Center for Industrial Relations, told AFP it's "common practice, even around the world" to compensate flight attendants based on time spent in the air. He said the union had built an effective communication campaign around the issue, creating a public perception of unfairness. An average passenger, not familiar with common industry practice, could think, "'I'm waiting to board the plane and there's a flight attendant helping me, but they're technically not being paid for that work,'" he said. "That's a very good issue to highlight." Air Canada detailed its latest offer in a Thursday statement, specifying that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would on average make CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027. CUPE has described Air Canada's offers as "below inflation (and) below market value." The union has also rejected requests from the federal government and Air Canada to resolve outstanding issues through independent arbitration. Gomez said that if the flight attendants strike, he does not expect the stoppage to last long. "This is peak season," he said.
