Sources: Fenway group to shop stake of Penguins
Fenway Sports Group is taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to market this week to explore selling a minority stake, multiple sources told ESPN on Monday.
It is still to be determined what percentage of the team Fenway is looking to sell, but FSG still expects to be the controlling owners, sources told ESPN.
FSG did something similar with Liverpool in 2023, selling a minority stake of the EPL team to New York-based sports investment firm Dynasty Equity.
Fenway bought controlling interest of the Penguins in 2021 for $900 million. The Penguins were previously owned by Ron Burkle and franchise legend Mario Lemieux, who had bought the team and saved it from bankruptcy in 1999. That group helped keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, then the club went on to win three Stanley Cups from 2009-2017 with its current core player group of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Lemieux has remained involved with the team after the sale to Fenway.
FSG’s portfolio includes several sports properties, such as Liverpool of EPL, Boston Red Sox of MLB, Fenway Park, NESN, RFK Racing of NASCAR, and Boston Common Golf of TGL.
Any change of ownership structure in the NHL is only official after it gets approved by the league’s Board of Governors. Fenway Sports Group selling off minority stake of the Penguins would not be viewed as unusual, especially in this era of private equity involvement of sports ownership.
In October 2024, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik sold a majority stake of his team to a new group of investors.
Through 51 games, the Penguins are 20-23-3, and sit in eighth place in the Metropolitan Division — putting them at risk of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a third consecutive season. FSG publicly and privately has said it would like to help Crosby win more Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh. Crosby, 37, signed a two-year extension (carrying a $8.7 million cap hit) with the Penguins in September. The Penguins are poised to be active ahead of the March 7 NHL trade deadline to help the team transition younger while staying competitive.
