Sudikoff Says Kings Are Financially Stable : Hockey: Despite fall in IDB stock, team finances will not be affected, the new owner says.

Jeffrey P. Sudikoff, the new majority owner of the Kings, reiterated Friday that turmoil this week at the telecommunications company he heads will not affect the hockey franchise.

IDB Communications Group’s stock on Wednesday tumbled by more than 50% after the company’s auditors, Deloitte & Touche, resigned in an apparent dispute over IDB’s accounting practices. The company also confirmed on Friday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has started an informal review of the dispute.

Also this week, IDB was named in shareholder lawsuits claiming the company had misled investors.

The huge stock drop raised concerns among some people close to the Kings that the funds of Sudikoff--whose personal fortune is largely made up of his nearly 5 million IDB shares--could be strained, limiting his ability to pay some overdue club bills as promised.

But Sudikoff, IDB’s chairman and chief executive, adamantly denied that there would be any impact on the club, adding that King bills--including playoff ticket refunds--are being paid. Sudikoff’s net worth on paper fell about $35 million on Wednesday when the stock dropped.

Sudikoff and partner Joseph M. Cohen, an IDB director, last month bought 72% of the Kings from financially troubled Bruce McNall for $60 million.

Before the close of the sale, there was some concern from other NHL owners that Sudikoff and Cohen might not be able to fully capitalize the team. The league, however, does not share those concerns and maintains that the new owners have brought the team current in its bills, according to sources.

Sudikoff confirmed that the $50-million loan from Bank of America that financed most of the purchase is secured by the franchise itself, not any IDB stock. He also confirmed that he obtained a $5-million letter of credit to assure Bank of America the next loan installment would be made.

Sudikoff said that he and Cohen met an obligation to the NHL to pay such things as the Kings’ workers’ compensation insurance and other bills believed to total about $800,000. He also said that they are covering about $2 million in other overdue bills such as equipment and doctors’ fees.

Sudikoff said he generally has not borrowed against his IDB stock, although he added that he has used a small percentage of it as security in borrowing cash.