Hawks, Alex Meruelo Reach Sale Agreement, Journal-Constitution Reports

The Atlanta Hawks reached an agreement with Alex Meruelo over the sale of a majority stake in the National Basketball Association club, the Atlanta Journal- Constitution said.

Meruelo has a signed agreement that also includes the operating rights to Philips Arena, the newspaper said, citing the 48-year-old Los Angeles businessman. The sale will be officially announced tomorrow, it said.

Meruelo is the founder and owner of a company that holds pizza restaurants, construction companies, a casino and a television station, the report said.

Some members of the current ownership, Atlanta Spirit LLC, will retain minority stakes, Meruelo told the newspaper.

The Spirit group bought the Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League and Philips Arena from Time Warner Inc. for $250 million in 2004. In May, the Spirit Group completed the sale of the Thrashers to a group that moved the team to Winnipeg and renamed them the Jets.

Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche didn’t immediately answer an e-mail seeking comment on the report. Ruben Gonzalez, a spokesman for Meruelo Group, didn’t immediately return a voicemail.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dex McLuskey in Dallas at dmcluskey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net.