The Tampa Bay Lightning’s ongoing sale process could soon be coming to an end as reports indicate that a deal could soon be formalized.
Current owner Jeff Vinik has been quietly shopping a portion of the franchise behind the scenes, but confirmed publicly last week that the Lightning were in talks with a potential new ownership group.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions to further expand our ownership group of the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Vinik’s statement read. “There will be no change in the day-to-day operations of the Lightning and Vinik Sports Group. I am very excited about what is to come for the organization and we look forward to sharing more when the time is right.”
According to reports, the purchaser is believed to be Doug Ostrover, who is the co-founder and CEO of Blue Owl Capital. Insiders believe that the Vinik group is negotiating the sale with a valuation of $2 Billion which would shatter the previous record sale of an NHL franchise set when Michael Andlauer purchased the Ottawa Senators for $950M.
Elliotte Friedman confirmed that while there are still a few final hurdles to clear in the sale process, that even when complete, there will be little to no change in the day to day operations for the Bolts.
“Sources stressed the deal is not done yet, adding there will be no immediate change of ownership control and no change in the day-to-day operations of the team,” Friedman stated. “As part of the deal, current owner Jeff Vinik will retain full operational control of the organization for the next several years. He will continue to have a significant ownership stake as part of the new group.”
Sources indicate that Vinik and his ownership group would like to wrap up the sale process before the start of training camp this fall.
Photo: Michel Curi. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.