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Meruelo poised to purchase Hawks

Updated: 2011-08-09 08:40

(China Daily)

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Meruelo poised to purchase Hawks

Alex Meruelo (R), founder of the Meruelo Group stands with former NBA star Dominique Wilkins, Hawks Vice-President of Basketball after it was announced the group had reached an agreement on the majority stake ownership of the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, Georgia, August 8, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

ATLANTA, Georgia - Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo has reached an agreement to buy a majority stake in the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Sunday.

In an exclusive interview with the newspaper this weekend, Meruelo said that if the deal is approved he would be proud to become the first Hispanic owner in the NBA.

"It is important to me," Meruelo, whose parents arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1961, told the Journal-Constitution.

"I'm very proud of my heritage. It's nice to be able to do something that is different and is not in the ordinary. I'm very blessed. I'm very lucky."

The Hawks, who are to remain in Atlanta, were planning an announcement regarding the widely reported deal on Monday.

The deal comes in the midst of an NBA labor dispute in which the league has locked out players. The dispute threatens to affect the upcoming 2011-2012 season and because of it Meruelo said he was unable discuss his possible plans for the franchise.

Meruelo, 48, told the newspaper he and the club's current ownership, the Atlanta Spirit Group, have a signed agreement that also includes the operating rights to Philips Arena.

Any sale remains subject to the approval of the NBA Board of Governors.

Meruelo is the founder and chairman of The Meruelo Group, a holding company that owns businesses ranging from pizza restaurants and construction firms to a casino and a TV station.

Meruelo poised to purchase Hawks

Alex Meruelo, founder of the Meruelo Group speaks to the media after it was announced the group had reached an agreement on the majority stake ownership of the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, Georgia, August 8, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Meruelo said some members of the Atlanta Spirit group will maintain minority ownership positions but that he will own more than 50 percent.

"I will be in complete control of the team," he told the Journal-Constitution.

The same ownership group recently sold the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers to a group that is moving the team to Winnipeg, Canada.

The Atlanta Spirit Group purchased the teams and the operating rights to the arena they shared in 2004.

The Hawks have reached the NBA playoffs in each of the past four years.

Agence France-Presse

 

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