Chicago-based Hoffmann family joins race to acquire Pittsburgh Penguins in staggering $1.75B deal: Report

The Pittsburgh Penguins may soon have new owners. Since the initial January reports, which mentioned that the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) was looking to sell a minority stake, several potential buyers have emerged. The FSG wanted to keep control of the team, but was planning to add a small partner.

Now, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman's report on Monday, the Hoffmann family has joined the race to buy the team. Chicago-based businessman David Hoffmann has previously shown interest in buying NHL and NBA teams, and already owns a minor league team, the Florida Everblades. He bought the team in 2019 from Peter Karmanos.

"The Chicago-based Hoffmann family has emerged as a serious contender to purchase the NHL team from Fenway Sports Group." Friedman wrote on sportsnet.ca on Monday.

FSG currently owns the Penguins. They also own the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC. They bought the Penguins for $900 million in 2021, and Friedman's report suggests that the selling price could reach $1.75 billion. So clearly, selling the Penguins would nearly double their investment.

Friedman has reported that the process is still not complete. No final deal has been signed yet, but the Hoffmann family has the money to compete for ownership.

Former Penguins owner Mario Lemieux has also shown interest in buying back the Pittsburgh Penguins, as reported by The Athletic's Pierre LeBruun. It was Lemieux who sold the team to FSG four years ago.

"Hearing from sources that the group of Ron Burkle, Mario Lemieux and David Morehouse are investigating the possibility of buying back the Penguins from Fenway Sports," LeBrun wrote in a tweet earlier in June.

However, according to an earlier report by Friedman, Lemieux's group was finding the higher price difficult.

Mario Lemieux-led group is not close to buying the Pittsburgh Penguins

In the first week of August, Elliotte Friedman talked about Mario Lemieux possibly buying back the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On his "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman explained that Lemieux’s group's bid is below the Fenway Sports Group’s price. The value of the team has significantly grown in four years, which makes a buyback less likely.

"From what I understand, it is just not close to that at this point in time," Friedman said about Penguins' trade possibility with Lemieux.

Fans would welcome Lemieux because of his history with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But Fenway’s asking price is higher than what Lemieux’s group is willing to pay. So for now, the Hoffmann family is a more serious contender than Lemieux’s group.