Atlanta—April 22, 2015—The Atlanta Hawks today announced that a definitive a
greement has been signed for the purchase of the NBA franchise by an ownership
group led by Tony Ressler, co-founder of Ares Management. The group also incl
udes seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, Clayton Dubilier & Rice partner Rick
Schnall, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzle
r, who are married.
The transaction, which includes operation of Philips Arena, requires the appro
val of the NBA Board of Governors. Terms of the sale were not released.
"We are honored and thrilled to have been chosen to become the new stewards of
the Hawks," said Ressler. "We respect the NBA's approval process and, accordi
ngly, can say no more other than we are incredibly excited by the Hawks' succe
ss and wish them luck in the playoffs."
"We are excited to welcome this new ownership group and are deeply gratified b
y its commitment to the Hawks and the Atlanta community," said Hawks CEO Steve
Koonin. "We are pleased that the group is committed to continue building on t
he franchise's storied history and recent success."
The sellers were advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Inner Circle Sports, and
the buyer by Moelis & Co.