Pittsburgh Penguins Reportedly Nearing Sale to Fenway Sports Group

The Fenway Sports Group, led by John Henry, is reportedly nearing an agreement to purchase a controlling stake in the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico.

Current owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle would be selling the majority of the team, although Lemieux reportedly plans to keep a minority stake, per Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports.

Fenway Sports Group currently owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC and Roush Fenway Racing among other ventures.

Henry has a net worth of $3.6 billion, per Forbes, while the group has other prominent investors including NBA star LeBron James and record executive Jimmy Iovine.

They can buy in to a franchise that has been one of the most successful in the NHL over the past few decades.

The Penguins have won five Stanley Cup titles in their history, including three since 2009. The team has made the playoffs in each of the last 15 seasons entering 2021-22.

Sportico listed the organization as the 15th most valuable in the NHL at $845 million, though Soshnick and Novy-Williams noted the Penguins led the league in local market ratings share last season. The team also sold out 633 straight games over a span of 14 seasons.

Lemieux, who spent 17 years playing for the Penguins and is the franchise's all-time goal-scoring leader with 690 in his career, could help keep some of the local flavor even after the sale.