The news leaked Wednesday that a group led by private equity billionaire Anthony Ressler would be purchasing the Atlanta Hawks for a price of roughly $730 million. Ressler’s group, which includes former NBA star Grant Hill and Jesse Itzler, husband of Spanx founder Sara Blakely, emerged late in the bidding process to secure a deal which many have called a steal. Most projections saw the team being sold for upwards of $800 million, with some wondering if competing bids might push the final sale all the way to $1 billion.
Ressler made his fortune by co-founding a pair of private equity firms, Apollo Global Management in 1990, followed by Ares Management in 1997. He was part of a group that bid on the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, but ultimately fell short as the franchise was purchased by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Please enter your User Name and Password to view the rest of this subscriber-only story. If you are unable to login, your account may have expired. Please contact James Online if you have any problems.
