It looks as if the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’) has moved from hockey to soccer, casting its eye on the U.K.’s Goals Soccer Centres Plc.
Goals released a statement today saying, “The company confirms that it has received a preliminary approach from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan that may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made for Goals, nor as to the terms on which an offer may be made.”
The initial deadline for Teachers’ to make the offer is April 30, 2012.
Goals manages pitches for a sport known as five-a-side football, which the company says is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.K.
News of the interest sent Goals’ shares up 21% on the London Stock Exchange as of 8:30 a.m. GMT today, reported Reuters. The company is currently valued at just over £52 million, or just over $83 million, said Reuters, although analysts have estimated the deal could be valued at up to £76.8 million.
Back in December, Teachers’ stepped away from the Ontario sporting world when it sold its ownership share in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. Maple Leaf Sports owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, Toronto Marlies and Air Canada Centre.