Report: Hurricanes to be sold to billionaire Tom Dundon
The Carolina Hurricanes are on the verge of being sold.
Current owner Peter Karmanos Jr. met with Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon on Thursday, and the pair later appeared at the NHL's Board of Governors meeting in Florida.
A purchase agreement is in place and is expected to be announced later Thursday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun.
Karmanos Jr. will not be stepping aside immediately, however.
Tom Dundon, if the purchase agreement goes through, would own 52 percent of the Hurricanes with an option in 3 years to buy the remaining 48 percent
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 7, 2017
All indications are Dundon will help stabilize the team's presence in North Carolina.
"(Karmanos Jr.) had said (all) along: he's put a lot of money into this marketplace, he believes in this marketplace, the NHL believes in this marketplace," team president Don Waddell said on Nov. 29, according to Cory Lavalette of North State Journal. "Any potential buyer is not going to have that option. They know if they're buying the team, they're buying it to keep it in Raleigh, North Carolina."
Reports of discussions between Karmanos and Dundon emerged in late November.
Back in July, a purchase offer of around $500 million was submitted by Chuck Greenberg - a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers - but Karmanos later said he felt Greenberg couldn't afford to make the right deal.