Fenway Sports Group has agreed to sell the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Hoffmann family of Chicago for more than $900 million, ending FSG's nine-year ownership of the franchise. The transaction, which awaits NHL Board of Governors approval, marks the first time the Penguins have changed hands since Mario Lemieux's ownership group stabilized the club in 1999.
The Hoffmann family built its fortune through Hoffmann Brothers, a Minneapolis-based industrial roofing and waterproofing business started in 1929. The buyers bring no prior sports ownership experience but arrive with $400 million in annual revenue from operations across seventeen states. FSG acquired the Penguins in 2021 for approximately $900 million when it purchased the remaining 60 percent stake from Lemieux and Ron Burkle. At that price, FSG is exiting flat or slightly ahead, depending on final terms—a measured return for a franchise that won Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 but has posted first-round exits in four of the past six postseasons.
The sale realigns FSG's portfolio around its original core: baseball and European soccer. The Boston-based firm still controls the Red Sox, Liverpool FC, and a majority stake in the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Penguins represented FSG's only NHL asset and the only franchise without broadcast or real estate synergies to its other holdings. By shedding Pittsburgh hockey, FSG frees capital for what industry executives expect will be heavier investment in Liverpool's squad rebuild and potential expansion into Formula 1 hospitality ventures. The timing also coincides with the NHL's uncertain national media landscape. The league's current deals with ESPN and Turner expire in 2028, and the Penguins' regional sports network, SportsNet Pittsburgh, is controlled by the franchise—a complication FSG inherited but the Hoffmanns now assume.
The Hoffmann family's entry point is deliberate. The Penguins carry $850 million in revenue for the 2023-24 season, ranking ninth in the league, but the franchise's competitive window is closing. Sidney Crosby turns 37 in August, Evgeni Malkin is 38, and both contracts expire in 2025. The club has not drafted a first-line center since 2005, and Pittsburgh's farm system ranks in the bottom third of the league. The new owners inherit a franchise that sells out PPG Paints Arena (18,387 capacity) but lacks the young talent base that drove valuations in recent Sun Belt sales—the Arizona Coyotes moved to Utah for $1.2 billion, and the Seattle Kraken's 2021 expansion fee was $650 million. The Hoffmann price reflects Pittsburgh's established market but limited growth trajectory.
Brokers familiar with the process say the sale moved quickly once FSG decided to exit. The Hoffmanns bypassed the usual auction process, approaching FSG directly through intermediaries in Chicago private equity circles. No other serious bidders emerged. That narrow process suggests FSG prioritized speed and certainty over price discovery—a choice that makes sense if the firm wanted to close before the NHL's next round of national media negotiations begin in earnest in 2026.
Watch for the NHL Board of Governors vote, expected in late spring. The Hoffmanns will need to clear the league's financial and background review, a process that typically takes 90 to 120 days once formal paperwork is filed. The family is expected to retain current president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas, who joined in 2023 after leaving Toronto, but front-office staffing decisions will likely wait until after the regulatory approval. Also watch whether the Hoffmanns pursue a naming-rights deal for PPG Paints Arena, where the current agreement with PPG Industries runs through 2028 and pays approximately $3 million annually—well below market for an NHL building in a top-15 U.S. market.
FSG's exit leaves the Penguins in the hands of first-time sports owners with deep industrial cash flow but no playbook for managing an aging championship core. The franchise is profitable, the building is paid off, and the market is loyal. What it is not is young.
The takeaway
FSG exits Penguins at cost basis, handing aging Cup franchise to first-time owners as media and roster windows narrow.
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