We are hearing reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins have now officially been sold.
Pittsburgh based reporter Dejan Kovacevic, who initially broke the story surrounding the sale of the Penguins, is the first on the news and according to his sources the Fenway Sports Group and the Pittsburgh Penguins have now signed a purchase agreement. This would effectively complete the deal between the Penguins and the Fenway Sports Group, and according to Kovacevic the only hurdle remaining now is approval from the National Hockey League's Board of Governors.
The league is expected to approve the deal in short order and that should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following this story. It sounds like the Fenway Sports Group intends to become a major player in the world of sports, and there are plenty of rumors suggesting that they have more planned beyond the acquisition of the Penguins.
Another extremely interesting detail shared by Kovacevic is the fact that both Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle have been included in the purchase as part of the new ownership group. This would appear to indicate that the Penguins will largely continue to operate as they were, although it is unclear at this time whether Lemieux or Burkle will take a forward facing role with the team moving forward.
By the sound of things this was no small purchase either. The Fenway Sports Group has reportedly dropped a whopping $900 million in order to acquire the Penguins, so if you want to buy your own NHL team one day you're going to want to start saving quickly. A number of independent publications had previously valued the Penguins in the neighborhood of $700 million, so it sounds like the previous ownership group is getting a good deal in the sale.
As is always the case with a new ownership group there will undoubtedly be some measure of changes forthcoming, but it's premature to predict what those might be given that the sale has not yet been officially recognized by the NHL.
Stay tuned for more updates as this story develops.
