Fenway Sports Group is in advanced negotiations to buy Pittsburgh Penguins, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.
Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux have been majority owners of Penguins since 1999. The Wall Street Journal and Sportico were the first to report on the potential sale.
The deal still needs to be approved by Fenway Sports Group’s board of directors, and will then have to be approved by the NHL. The NHL’s board of governors must approve any potential sales.
Billionaire John Henry is the principal owner of Fenway Sports Group, whose portfolio includes Boston Red Sox MLB’s, EPL’s Liverpool and NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing. Fenway Sports Group also owns real estate, including Fenway Park. NBA star LeBron James shares in the company.
The Penguins teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in 1999 when Lemieux, a franchise legend, and Burkle, an investor, led a team that acquired the team for a reported $107 million. Lemieux and Burke were instrumental in securing a new arena in Pittsburgh, which was likely to have to be relocated. Since then, the Penguins have successfully rediscovered on ice – largely thanks to the arrival of Evgeni Malkin (Volume 2 in 2004) and Sidney Crosby (No. 1 pick in 2005).
While Lemieux helped Penguins win the first two Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992, Crosby and Malkin led the franchise to three more in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
According to Sportico’s recent valuation, the Penguins are the NHL’s 15th most valuable team, with a valuation of $845 million. According to data compiled by Sportico, the average NHL team is valued at $934 million and the combined market value of the 32 teams is $30 billion.
Burkle and Lemieux have explored selling Penguins before, including in 2015 when they hired Morgan Stanley to help them review options.
Meanwhile, Fenway Sports Group has been public about growing its sports portfolio in North America.
“We’re huge fans of the National Basketball Association and obviously the National Hockey League,” partner Sam Kennedy, and president and CEO of the Red Sox, said at a panel on Sportico’s website in April. “It represents a natural place for Fenway Sports Group.”
The Penguins, like many teams in the NHL, have struggled financially during the pandemic. The team accepted a $4.8 million Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020 and ended a 14-year streak of ticket sales earlier this season.
The last NHL group sale involved Arizona Coyotes, which was taken over by Alex Meurelo as majority owner in 2019. The NHL has a standard agreement that prevents new owners from applying for relocation for seven years after they take over.
