text: Devils co-owner Michael Gilfillan looking to sell stake in team | NJ.com
  Devils co-owner Michael Gilfillan looking to sell stake in team
  Updated February 2, 2011 at 5:54 AM ; Posted February 1, 2011 at 9:05 PM
  Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesOwner Jeff Vanderbeek will still maintain his stake in the Devils.
  By David Giambusso and Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
  New Jersey Devils co-owner Michael Gilfillan, a minority partner in the franchise for more than a decade and a key figure in the development of the Prudential Center, is looking to sell his stake in the team.
  Devils principal owner Jeff Vanderbeek confirmed in a statement today that Gilfillan, president of Brick City Hockey, had retained Baltimore investment bank Moag & Co. to explore the sale of his share. Brick City is controlled by Gilfillan and his father-in-law, philanthropist Raymond Chambers.
  "My partner, Brick City, and I have different visions for the franchise," Vanderbeek said in the statement. "While Brick City has a right, under our partnership agreement, to explore a sale and Moag & Co. has been retained to assist in these efforts, I anticipate maintaining a controlling interest."
  Vanderbeek, a former Lehman Brothers executive who took control of the Devils in 2004, owns 50 percent of the team. It wasn't immediately clear how a sale of Gilfillan's minority interest would affect the club, which has played at the Prudential Center since the Newark arena opened in 2007.
  Vanderbeek's brief statement did not elaborate on his differences with Gilfillan, and the principal owner declined further comment.
  In his own statement, Gilfillan said Brick City had achieved its goal of using sports as a catalyst for economic development in Newark, with the arena drawing visitors not just for hockey, but for concerts and other shows.
  "The arena and the teams playing here have also attracted more people to come back to the city in an ongoing effort to restore pride, sports, arts, culture and business to this beautiful city," Gilfillan said.
  According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Gilfillan and Chambers don't want to invest millions of dollars more into the franchise, which is building two high-end restaurants in the arena and contributing to the development of a nearby hotel.
  The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not publicly authorized to discuss the matter.
  The partnership paid $125 million for the Devils in 2004. Late last year, Forbes magazine estimated the team's value at $218 million, making it the 11th most valuable franchise in the National Hockey League.
  Both the magazine and Vanderbeek have said the team is profitable, though attendance, never a strong point, has sagged even more this year as the Devils struggle through a miserable season, with the worst record in the league. Before this season, the team enjoyed tremendous success on the ice, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003 and making the playoffs 13 consecutive times.
  For most of that run, the team played in the Meadowlands stadium.
  The potential sale of Gilfillan's interest in the team remains in the early stages. Moag & Co., which specializes in sports transactions, sent out a letter to prospective investors on Jan. 25.
  Vanderbeek issued his statement in response to a Bloomberg News report, which said he was putting the team up for sale himself.
  Since taking control of the Devils, Vanderbeek has been the face of the franchise, pushing hard and publicly for the Newark arena. Gilfillan has been more apt to remain in the background, but he's also played an important role.
  A former co-chair of YankeeNets, Gilfillan has been on the board of directors of Puck Holdings, the entity that controls the Devils, since 2000. He also worked to bring an arena to Newark since 1998.
  With the potential sale, the Devils join a growing number of NHL franchises in flux. At least eight other teams are up for sale or are seeking minority investors. In the latest case, the owners of the Buffalo Sabres announced yesterday that they had sold the team.