The sale of the Atlanta Hawks to a group led by billionaire Tony Ressler is scheduled to be completed on June 24, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
An agreement to purchase the Hawks and Philips Arena from the group known as the Atlanta Spirit has been in place since April 22. The sales process was expected to take 4-6 weeks to complete and will be official with the approval of the NBA Board of Governors. The approval can be done by conference call or electronically and is scheduled for the day before the NBA Draft.
Ressler, 55, will be the clear majority owner of the franchise with a purchase price of $730 million. The group also includes seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, Clayton Dubilier & Rice partner Rick Schnall, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler, who are married. As previously reported by the AJC, current co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. will retain a small stake.
Members of the prospective ownership group, current ownership group and team employees are not allowed to speak about the sale until it is finalized per NBA rules.
Ressler is a co-founder of two private equity firms, Apollo Global Management and Ares Management. He is also a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. According to Forbes Magazine, he is worth approximately $1.43 billion. He attended several Hawks playoff games following the announcement of the sales agreement.
The sales process began in September when controlling owner Bruce Levenson announced his intention to sell his stake as a result of a firestorm of controversy that engulfed the franchise’s ownership group.
The Washington-based group, led by Levenson, announced that it would sell its 50.1 percent stake following the discovery of a racially inflammatory email circulated among some owners. An independent investigation discovered an email Levenson wrote in 2012 that included racist remarks about the fan base and game operations.
Levenson’s partners, Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman, are also stakeholders in the group. Several months later, the remaining ownership factions agreed to sell their shares as well. The Atlanta-based group of Michael Gearon Jr., Michael Gearon Sr., Rutherford Seydel and Beau Turner will sell their combined 32.3 percent of the franchise. In addition, a New York-based group, led by Steven Price, agreed to sell its 17.6 percent stake.
Most of the current owners attended Hawks playoff games which ended in a sweep by the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals last week.
