(Bloomberg) -- Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz, the co-heads of private credit behemoth Blue Owl Capital Inc., will be taking over the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team.
The duo are leading a group of investors purchasing a stake in the National Hockey League club, in a deal that will give them control in three years, according to a team statement on Thursday.
The transaction valued the franchise at $1.8 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. As part of the arrangement, current owner Jeff Vinik will remain a partner and private equity firm Arctos will sell a portion of its stake.
“We look forward to embracing the Tampa Bay community and partnering with Jeff to build on the team’s success and championship legacy,” Ostrover said in the statement. “We are excited to be a part of a league with such incredible growth and momentum.”
The Lightning are the second NHL franchise to trade hands in 2024. Alex Meruelo sold the Arizona Coyotes to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith earlier this year for $1.2 billion. Following the sale, Smith moved the franchise to Utah to create the Utah Hockey Club.
The Tampa Bay transaction is emblematic of growing ties between finance and professional sports, with surging valuations across different franchises luring in more private equity and billionaires. Ostrover and Lipschultz helped build Blue Owl into an asset management giant with close to $200 billion in assets and a global footprint.
Vinik purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010 for an estimated $93 million, according to the news outlet Sportico, and relocated to the city from Boston. Under his tenure, the team won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, in 2020 and 2021.
In addition to Ostrover and Lipschultz, the new Tampa Bay Lightning ownership group will include Adam Gerry, Nicole Sanzosti Padgett, Brian Schwartz, Perry Sook, Scott Dahnke, Pete Labbat, Daniel Och, David Moore and Bill Janetschek.
“Doug and Marc share my commitment to providing the Lightning with all the resources they need to excel and are excited to become part of the Tampa Bay community,” Vinik said in the statement.
--With assistance from Giles Turner.
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