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Wild owner Leipold to buy out minority shareholder

Leipold AP

Craig Leipold is upping his investment in the Minnesota Wild.

Already the club’s majority shareholder, Leipold is reportedly in the process of buying out Matthew Hulsizer’s 27 percent share, per the Star-Tribune.

Once completed, the deal will bring Leipold’s stake in the club to 95 percent.

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Leipold said he and Hulsizer are departing on friendly terms.

The decision is driven by Leipold’s desire to keep the Wild in his family long-term and Hulsizer’s desire to eventually own a larger chunk of the franchise and be more involved in hockey decisions.

Hulsizer, a Chicago businessman, caught on the Wild in February of last year, joining the board of directors as vice chairman and minority owner, taking over the latter title (and stake) from Philip Falcone.

Previously, Hulsizer tried (and failed) to buy the Coyotes out of bankruptcy.
“[Hulsizer] continued to have a higher interest level in being involved in the hockey side like the draft and trades, but I wasn’t willing to give that up,” Leipold said, per the Tribune. “That’s not my style with [General Manager] Chuck [Fletcher], so I certainly wouldn’t let a minority owner have that kind of input to Chuck.”

The deal could take “months” to finalize, according to the Star-Tribune’s Mike Russo.