Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins that would give the conglomerate controlling interest in one of the NHL's marquee franchises.
Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle rescued the Pittsburgh Penguins out of bankruptcy more than 20 years ago, a decision that helped turn the team into one of the NHL's marquee franchises.
With the Penguins' spot in Pittsburgh secure for years to come and with five Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters at PPG Paints Arena, Lemieux and Burkle are handing the keys over to the Fenway Sports Group.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are the latest sports team to be added to the impressive FSG roster
John W Henry (left) and Tom Werner are the two main stakeholders in Fenway Sports Group
The team announced on Monday that FSG and Lemieux and Burkle have agreed to a deal that will give the massive conglomerate controlling interest in the Penguins, pending approval by the NHL's Board of Governors, which is expected by the end of the year.
FSG already owns several high-profile sports teams, including Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox and Premier League giants Liverpool.
With ice hockey, baseball and Premier League football ticked off their list, NBA could well be next after basketball legend LeBron James came on board as an investor in the spring.
The LA Lakers star has made no secret of his desire to one day own an NBA franchise. FSG received a reported $750million (£562m) investment from RedBird Capital Partners in March that valued the sports conglomerate at $7.35billion (£5.5bn).
Financial details of the Pittsburgh takeover have not been released, but Sportico valued the Penguins at $845million (£634m) last month.
As part of the deal, Lemieux and Burkle will remain part of the franchise's ownership group. The two put the Penguins on the market back in 2015 before eventually - at least officially anyway - removing the 'for sale' sign as the team won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
They have achieved lots of success with Liverpool, the 2019-20 Premier League champions
LeBron James is also an investor and has made it clear that he wants to own an NBA team
'Over the years, we have been approached multiple times by various groups interested in purchasing the team but never found the right fit,' Lemieux said in a statement. 'In FSG, however, we met an experienced group of leaders with a passion to win championships and a vision that aligns with ours.'
There will be no
