Penguins' sale to Fenway Sports Group approved by NHL Board of Governors

The Pittsburgh Penguins have new owners. 

Reports surfaced last month the Fenway Sports Group was in advanced talks to purchase the Penguins, and those two entities reached an agreement on a transaction in late November. On Thursday, the NHL Board of Governors approved the team's sale to FSG, which already owns MLB's Boston Red Sox and English Premier League side Liverpool Football Club among its assets. 

Penguins legend Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle had been majority owners of the Penguins since 1999. Both will remain part of the new ownership group. 

"As the Penguins enter a new chapter, I will continue to be as active and engaged with the team as I always have been and look forward to continuing to build on our success with our incoming partners at FSG," Lemieux, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Penguins during his playing career, said for an official statement. "They have an organizational philosophy that mirrors the approach that worked so well for Ron and me over the past 22 years."

Fenway Sports Group chairman Tom Werner added: 

"The Pittsburgh Penguins are a premier National Hockey League franchise with a very strong organization, a terrific history and a vibrant, passionate fan base. We will work diligently to continue building on the remarkable Penguins' tradition of championships and exciting play.

"We are particularly excited to welcome Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle to FSG and have the utmost respect for all they have done to build the Penguins into the perennially successful franchise we know today. We look forward to working with Mario, Ron and the entire Penguins front office team."

Under the leadership of Lemieux and Burkle, Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016, and 2017. According to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, the sale of the Penguins was worth $915 million.