The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Rogers and BCE are challenging billionaire Larry Tanenbaum's planned sale of an interest in the parent company of Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors to a pension plan, the first skirmish in what could be a multiyear battle for control of a sports empire. The Globe's Alexandra Posadzki and Andrew Willis write that last month, Mr. Tanenbaum notified Rogers and BCE, the parent company of Bell, that he planned to raise $400-million by selling a 20-per-cent stake in a family-controlled holding company, Kilmer Sports Inc., to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System pension plan. Kilmer Sports owns 25 per cent of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and Mr. Tanenbaum is MLSE's chairman. Rogers and Bell evenly split the remaining 75 per cent through a jointly owned holding company. Rogers and Bell sent a joint letter this week to Mr. Tanenbaum in which they raised questions about the proposed sale. The planned transaction with OMERS values the sports company at $8-billion, meaning Mr. Tanenbaum's MLSE holding would be worth $2-billion. Valuations of pro sports teams are soaring, in part because of rising revenues from broadcasters and gambling. Mr. Tanenbaum is 78.