Chuck Greenberg, a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers, is close to purchasing the NHL's Hurricanes for approximately $500 million in a deal that will keep the team in North Carolina, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.
.@NHLCanes have signed a letter of intent to sell to former Texas Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg. Agreement keeps Canes in Raleigh. #wral
— Jeff Gravley (@jgravleyWRAL) July 13, 2017
The valuation is similar to the expansion fee paid by Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, and more than doubles a recent estimate of the Hurricane's value from Forbes ($230 million).
Greenberg, a sports lawyer by trade, helped work on the deal that saw Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle take control of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999. A group led by Greenberg and Nolan Ryan later won an auction to purchase MLB's Rangers in August 2010, but the former surprisingly stepped down as managing partner and CEO just seven months later.
Current Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos confirmed in January he was open to selling the team if the price was right. He's owned the franchise since 1994, and moved the then-Hartford Whalers to their current home in North Carolina in 1997.
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