St. Louis Blues owner David Checketts said he will get an extension from lenders today on a $120 million loan, buying him more time to find a buyer for the hockey team.
“We have a direct agreement with the banks that gives us time to sell the franchise,” Checketts told The Post yesterday in an interview.
The money-losing Blues on June 30 missed the $120 million principal payment on their Citigroup-led loan.
The loan extension will give him more than 60 days to finish an orderly sale of the team, Checketts said. If he fails to find a buyer, the lenders will retain the right to put the team in default, he said.
The lenders are getting additional fees in exchange for the forbearance.
Checketts’ Park Avenue firm, SCP Worldwide, controls the NHL team, although it only owns about a 20 percent stake.
Two sources close to the process believed a buyer would pay less than $140 million for the Blues and the right to run operations in their stadium.
Checketts said he is taking binding offers in the next few weeks and expects to fetch more than $140 million for the team.
Checketts was president and CEO of Madison Square Garden from 1994 through 2001 but lost a power struggle with boss James Dolan and resigned.