Nashville Predators owners complete deal to buy jailed financier's shares

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Predators owners have completed a purchase of the 26 per cent stake in the team held by the bankrupt estate of a California financier jailed for fraud.

Preadators Holdings LLC chairman Tom Cigarran announced Thursday that the NHL and Metro Nashville Sports Authority had approved the transaction for the ownership shares previously held by William "Boots" Del Biaggio III and his Forecheck Investments, LLC.

The group of local owners now owns more than 95 per cent of the franchise's ownership shares.

Del Biaggio pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to more than eight years in prison last year after bilking investors and banks out of millions to fund his stake in the Predators. The former San Jose Sharks' minority owner joined Tennessee investors in buying the Predators for US$193 million in 2007 from original owner Craig Leipold.