Pittsburgh Penguins May Have A Buyer
By Larry Snyder
It is being reported by Patty Tascarella of the Pittsburgh Business Times that a group of investors have emerged to make an offer to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins within the week.
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Tascarella’s story has the sale price to be between $700 and $850 million. Mike Ozanian and the staff at Forbes Magazine estimated the Penguins to be worth $565 million in 2014.
In recent years a few teams in the National Hockey League have changed hands. The New Jersey Devils was obtained August 2013 by a group led by Josh Harris, owner of the NBA Philadelphia 76ers, and business partner David Blitzer for $320 million. The Florida Panthers was purchased in September 2013 for approximately $250 million by former New York Mercantile Exchange chairman Vincent Viola.
The NHL announced in October 2014 that the New York Islanders sold a minority stake in the team to a group led by Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin. The arrangement has current owner Charles Wang continuing as majority stockholder till the 2016-2017 season. The majority ownership will then move to the Ledecky-Malkin group. Wang will stay on in the minority role. Forbes puts the price tag on the transaction at $485 million.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pens went public with their plans Wednesday, June 3 for owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle to sell all or part of their shares of the club. The Black and Gold retained the investment firm of Morgan Stanley to look after the sale of the organization. The team also released a statement at the beginning of June, stating that Lemieux, Burkle and the Penguins will have no further comment until the entire process is finished.
The Penguins have been held by Lemieux, 49, and Burkle, 62, since the partners purchased the squad in 1999 from bankruptcy court. The Pens lease keeps them tied to the Steel City at Consol Energy Center through 2037.
From The Clipboard: The Pens issued a statement Tuesday that they have named Andy O’Brien, 37, as the team’s Director of Sport Science and Performance. Andreas Hüppi, 45, as named as Sports Massage Therapist.
The team will bring in a new a strength and conditioning coach to work under O’Brien as it continues to refine its approach to training, nutrition, performance, injury prevention and rehabilitation.
Pittsburgh announced Monday that they re-signed right wing Bobby Farnham, 26, to a one-year deal. The agreement is a two-way contract that has an average annual worth of $575,000 at the NHL level. The 5-foot-10, 188-pound forward made his debut in the NHL on Dec. 11 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. The North Andover, Massachusetts native appeared in 11 contests for the Penguins in 2014-2015.
Last Thursday, July 9, the Black and Gold announced they re-signed defenseman Brian Dumoulin, 23, to a two-year agreement. The contract runs through the 2016-17 season and has an average annual rate of $800,000. The 6-foot-4, 207-pound member of the blue line crew saw time on the ice in all five postseason games with the Penguins this past spring.
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