Prime Ticket Agrees on Sale to Cable Giant

Prime Ticket network, which televises the games of five major professional sports teams in Southern California, reached an agreement Friday to be purchased by Denver-based cable giant Tele-Communications, Inc.

Terms were not disclosed, but sources familiar with the transaction said the purchase price is believed to be about $230 million. The deal--subject to regulatory approval--is expected to close in July.

Bill Daniels, who started Prime Ticket with Jerry Buss in 1985, had acquired all but 16.5% by 1988. Buss, owner of the Lakers and the Forum, kept an interest of about 15%.

Employees were told of the sale at a staff meeting Friday afternoon with an announcement by Roger L. Werner Jr., company president and CEO. Werner is unsure of his future but remains under contract to Daniels.

Essentially, operations are expected to remain the same at Prime Ticket.

“It’s a good deal for Prime Ticket, its employees and viewers,” Werner said. “TCI has deeper pockets to acquire more and better programming.”

TCI, with 10.7 million customers, is the nation’s largest cable-TV operator. TCI was in the news most recently when its $22-billion proposed merger with Bell Atlantic collapsed last winter.

“We believe Bill Daniels has built a tremendous business and organization in Prime Ticket, and we look forward to completing this acquisition as quickly as possible,” John Malone, president and CEO of TCI, said in a statement.

Prime Ticket serves 4 million cable subscribers in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.

Times staff writer Larry Stewart contributed to this story.