“My partner, Tom Thewes, passed away two years ago, and we have been putzing around trying to figure [out] how to replace the partner,” said Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, who currently controls 100 percent of the franchise. “We just went to Allen & Co. to explore the different ways. It’s certainly not to sell the team.”
Another important note, though, is that there can be a “too many cooks in the kitchen” mentality to 50-50 ownership situations.
How a 50-50 partnership would be structured for the Hurricanes is uncertain. There are only a handful of similar arrangements in sports. The Tisch and Mara families peacefully co-own the New York Giants, with the Maras handling football operations and the Tisches overseeing business operations. On the other side, George Gillett and Tom Hicks’ co-ownership of Liverpool FC has been stormy, and the duo is currently trying to sell the team.
Naturally, this is very early in the situation, so exact details are scarce. We’ll keep you up to date on the potential (partial?) sale of the Hurricanes, along with the scenarios for the Coyotes, Thrashers, Stars and any other teams who might look for new owners as reports filter in.
(H/T to Kukla’s Korner)