Group sells majority stake of Hawks

Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo has purchased a controlling interest in the Atlanta Hawks, Meruelo told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team, which will remain in Atlanta according to the report, is set to announce on Monday, with former Atlanta Spirit Group principals retaining a minority share.

Terms of the sale were not immediately available.

FOXSportsSouth.com will stream Monday's announcement live at 2pm.

The team had been up for sale for months and in May, one of the owners, Michael Gearon Jr., informed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that an exclusive negotiating period with outgoing San Diego Padres owner John Moores had elapsed.

In July, the team released a statement denying a report by SI.com that the team’s sale was imminent. However, the statement also said that the ownership had hired an investment bank for the purpose of selling the Hawks and the operating rights to Philips Arena. More recently, reports had indicated that efforts to sell the team were taking on steam.

Thus ends a nearly eight-year run of the Atlanta Spirit calling the shots for what was once two of the city’s four major pro sports franchises. The Spirit reached a reported agreement for $170 million to sell the Thrashers in May to True North Sports and Entertainment, which moved the franchise to Winnipeg.

"I am a lifelong basketball fan, a student of the NBA game, and this is a dream come true for me," stated Alex Meruelo, founder and chief executive officer of the Meruelo Group. "I am committed to winning and look forward to engaging with our wonderful fans, our dedicated season ticket holders, our committed corporate partners and this passionate community.   I believe that both the Hawks and Philips Arena have unlimited potential for the future. I am honored to be a part of that future"

With the NBA currently in lockout, it’s hard to know what changes Meruelo might want to make to the franchise, which has made the playoffs for four straight seasons and advanced to the second round in each of the last three.

He inherits a team with guard Joe Johnson as one of the NBA’s highest-paid players and with promising young players such as Al Horford, a two-time All-Star, and Josh Smith, runner-up for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2010, as well as free agent Jamal Crawford, who won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award in 2010. Veteran NBA front office man Rick Sund took over as general manager in 2008 and in 2010 long-time assistant Larry Drew took over as head coach after Mike Woodson’s six-year tenure.

According to his bio on the Meruelo Group web site, Meruelo, 48, founded a quick-service restaurant called La Pizza Loca in 1986 that caters to the Latino community. He has expanded it to more than 50 outlets at present. He also has expanded into many other areas, including real-estate development of commercial, retail and industrial properties. According to BusinessWeek, Meruelo manages more than 1,000 residential units and more than 20 retail units.

In 1999, he purchased his first four construction companies. His company has continued to expand the variety of its holdings and purchased a Spanish-language television station in Los Angeles in 2011.

The Meruelo Group also has an investment arm, Meruelo Capital Partners, which invests between $5 million and $20 million per transaction, according to its web site. In 2009, according to the Sacramento Business Journal, Meruelo and Levine Leichtman Capital Partners IV paid $80 million for Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grills, a chain with 195 locations. At the time, Meruelo already held a 10 percent interest in the chain.

In 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that he paid $24 million for a shopping center and apartment project in downtown Long Beach, Calif.

He also is a founding shareholder and director of Commercial Bank of California. He attended Cal State Long Beach.