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Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has reportedly agreed a $1.7 billion deal to sell the NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, to a Chicago-based group led by investor David Hoffmann.
According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, confirmation can be expected to arrive in the next few days. In addition to Liverpool FC, FSG also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, with those franchises the biggest and most important in its portfolio.
FSG bought the Penguins in 2021 for a reported $900 million. Last week, Forbes valued the club at $1.75 billion. It has an annual revenue of around $230 million.
According to Pittsburgh Hockey Now, a sale is currently in the process of being completed. However, "complications on external details" are holding up the process.
It's said that FSG has "agreed a price" to sell the Penguins to the Hoffman family, although NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has "advised all parties to maintain silence on the matters until the deal is complete".
FSG was founded by John Henry and Tom Werner in 2001. Its investors include LeBron James and his long-time business partner Maverick Carter, as well as Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy.
The Red Sox have enjoyed the most success under FSG's ownership, ending their 86-year title drought in 2004 and adding another three MLB crowns since.
Liverpool has won two Premier League titles and the Champions League, plus other domestic honors, since FSG bought the team for around $400 million in 2010.
For the Penguins, however, things have not gone so well on the field during FSG's tenure. They lifted the Stanley Cup twice in the five years before FSG became owners.
Since the acquisition, though, the Penguins have only reached round one of the play-offs have missed the post-season entirely for each of the last three years.
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Currently, the Penguins rank 28th out of 32 NHL teams in wages. Meanwhile, Penguins fans were frustrated at seeing their team outbid for star players.
"FSG was never all-in on Pittsburgh," one fan wrote online in the wake of the news emerging. "Maybe the Hoffmann family will actually treat the Penguins like the historic franchise they are."
It remains to be seen what impact the sale will have on the FSG portfolio. The US group remains committed to Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox.
English (US) ·