Fenway Sports Group's purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly took a major step toward becoming official on Friday (November 19).
WPXI reports both the FSG board and the Penguins board voted to approve the sale, which is still pending final approval from the National Hockey League, sources close to the Penguins confirmed.
On Tuesday (November 16), the Wall Street Journal reported Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool F.C. and Roush Fenway Racing, is reportedly in "advanced talks" to purchase the Penguins.
At the time, the Wall Street Journal reported the proposed deal "could be finalized later this week" if negotiations "don't fall apart" as terms continue to be discussed, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
Hockey Hall of Famer and former Penguins captain Mario Lemieux -- who purchased the franchise in 1999 and brought it out of bankruptcy as part of Lemieux Group LP -- would remain a minority owner of the team under the new deal.
Fenway Sports Group is led by principal owner John W. Henry, who holds an estimated 40% of stock in the company, and Chairman Tom Werner, who controls the second-largest block of shares.
In March, the company added Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and his longtime and businesses partner Maverick Carter as businesses partners.
James and Carter became the the first Black partners of FSG and joined Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Derek Jeter as the only Black owners of MLB teams upon their respective purchase of ownership stakes in the Red Sox.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe reported James purchased an "undisclosed amount of Fenway Sports Group shares after previously holding an approximately 2 percent share of the Liverpool soccer franchise since 2011," at the time of the deal.
The Boston Globe reported FSG aimed to add more professional sports teams to its ownership portfolio, as well as "betting, esports and data analytics companies" amid the reported agreements with James and Carter.