Agreements "have been reached" between all three factions of the Hawks' ownership group to "sell their complete stakes in the team," according to sources cited by Chris Vivlamore of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. A source said that pending league approval the team will be "officially on the market" this week. Goldman Sachs and Inner Circle Sports have been retained "to handle the sale process." Goldman Sachs can now begin the process of "gathering and vetting prospective buyers." Estimations are that the franchise "could be sold for upwards" of $600M. The DC-based faction, led by Managing Partner Bruce Levenson, in September announced that it would sell its 50.1% "following the discovery of a racially inflammatory email that rocked the franchise." Agreements are also in place for the Atlanta-based contingent, led by co-Owners Michael Gearon Jr. and Sr., Rutherford Seydel and Beau Turner, to "sell its combined" 32.3% of the franchise. In addition, the N.Y.-based group, led by investor Steven Price, "has agreed to sell" its 17.6% stake. The NBA has "preferred a high percentage of the team be available, considering the sale of as much of the team as possible in the best interests of all parties and the city of Atlanta." Part of the sale of the Hawks "includes the remaining" $124M debt on Philips Arena (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 1/3). In Atlanta, Maria Saporta wrote it is "premature to say" that the Hawks' current Atlanta-based owners "won't continue to have a stake the team." Seydel on Friday said that the group "continues to be interested in being part of a future ownership team." Seydel: "We look forward to being part of a new group that's going to take us to a new level. ... We want to partner with like-minded people" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/2).
MENDING FENCES: In N.Y., Mike Tierney noted the Hawks have the best record in the Eastern Conference, and have seen a "substantial spike in attendance" (up 15%) and local TV ratings (up 40%). But Hawks CEO Steve Koonin "suggests that a lofty perch in the standings is no cure-all for lingering ill will in the community." The "burden to make amends has fallen largely" on Koonin. Besides hiring Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Nzinga Shaw, he approved a statue to honor HOFer Dominique Wilkins, "lowered ticket prices for some cheaper seats and solicited advice from prominent residents" (
N.Y. TIMES, 1/5). The JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION's Vivlamore noted through 17 home games, the Hawks reported "an increase of 2,200 fans per game over the same period last season." But the Hawks are currently ranked 24th out of the 30 NBA teams in "average attendance at 16,015." The figure includes "three straight sellouts of which the team announced a season-high" of 19,215 for Tuesday’s game against the Cavaliers (
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 1/1).
