Ex-49ers firm owes $69M, may be taken over

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A private-equity firm run by former San Francisco 49ers football stars may be taken over by a bank to which it owes $69 million, the bank said.

HRJ Capital LLC of Woodside, Calif., made famous by Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott plus teammate Harris Barton, evidently doomed itself by using the firm as collateral for a bridge loan as it was trying to raise $250 million, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported.

It raised only $110 million to $130 million, but committed the entire $250 million for investments, the newspaper said.

Now in debt, HRJ is negotiating its sale to SVB Financial Group of Santa Clara, Calif., whose companies include Santa Clara's Silicon Valley Bank, the Mercury News said.

SVB said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing the negotiations were exploring "a possible arrangement" for SVB to provide management services to various funds now managed by HRJ Capital.

SVB would recover its money through management fees, the filing said.

Some HRJ Capital employees would join SVB.

Montana left HRJ Capital in 2006, but Lott and Barton remain as members of a three-person management team, the HRJ Web site said.

SVB's stock was down $2.99 a share, or 10.81 percent, in late afternoon trading Thursday to $24.67, a 52-week low.