Investing.com -- The ownership group of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks is on the verge of finalizing a deal to sell the team to an investment group that includes private equity billionaire Anthony Ressler and NBA All-Star Grant Hill, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday.
The group, which is also comprised of BTIG co-founder Steven Starker and Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler, has reportedly placed a bid of $850 million to purchase the team from owners Bruce Levenson, Michael Gearon Jr. and other investors, USA Today Sports reported.
In September, Levenson announced his intentions of selling the team after he self-reported a racially insensitive e-mail he sent to Hawks' president Danny Ferry in August, 2012.
Levenson's group acquired the Hawks, the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and control of Philips Arena in 2004 for a reported sum of $250 million. The Thrashers were later sold and moved to Winnipeg in 2011. The group led by Ressler will reportedly assume $120 in the arena's debt, Bloomberg reported.
Ressler, a minority owner of MLB's Milwaukee Brewers, co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management with his brother in-law Leon Black in 1990. Seven years later, Ressler co-founded Ares Management with two former colleagues from Apollo Global. Earlier this week, Ares reportedly acquired the asset-based lending portfolio of First Capital Holdings in an effort to expand its commercial finance division.
Forbes has estimated Ressler's net worth at $1.43 billion after a 2014 IPO in Ares Management provided him with a 31% stake in the private equity firm.
The deal could be the latest in a string of purchases by private equity investors in professional sports franchises. Last May, Fortress Investment Group co-founder and chair Wesley Edens purchased the Milwaukee Bucks along with Marc Lasry, the CEO of Avenue Capital Management. Several years earlier, Tom Gores, the chairman and CEO of Platinum Equity, purchased the Detroit Pistons for a reported sum of $325 million.
In addition, Josh Harris, Ressler's former colleague at Apollo Global, purchased the Philadelphia 76ers along with David Blitzer of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Group in 2011. The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors are also owned by private equity investors.
News of the impending deal surfaced ahead of Wednesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets. The Hawks ended the regular season with a 60-22 record, the best record in the East.