Tom Werner Confirms Fenway Sports Group Near Deal To Buy Penguins, Enter NHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins are set to join Fenway Sports Group’s family of properties in the near future.

FSG chairman Tom Werner revealed to The Boston Globe’s Michael Silverman on Thursday the conglomerate hopes to close a deal to buy the Penguins by Monday. Ongoing discussions between FSG and Penguins co-owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux appear to be nearing a successful conclusion.

“It’s our belief that we can become a stronger and more diversified sports and media company by being involved in not just baseball and (soccer) but, in this case, hockey,” Werner told Silverman ” said Werner. “I know we haven’t closed our deal — there’s a couple of sticking points, we hope to close it by Monday, I always believe there’s some unnecessary surprise at the end — but we believe in hockey.”

The boards of FSG and the Penguins must approve the deal, and the parties then must sign a sales agreement. Afterward, the deal will move to the NHL for approval.

The Penguins look set to join the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club and NASCAR’s RFK Racing in FSG’s portfolio of sports franchises and represent FSG’s first foray into the NHL.