Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon is cashing in on a piece of his franchise, agreeing to sell a 12.5% stake that pegs the club at roughly a $2.66 billion valuation. The move brings fresh minority money into the Raleigh-based team while keeping Dundon firmly in control. The timing is pure hockey drama, too, with word of the deal breaking on Thursday, just one day before the NHL trade deadline added its own chaos to the week.
According to The Charlotte Observer, the details trace back to a Sportico report saying three minority partners are involved, all choosing to stay anonymous for now. At 12.5% of a $2.66 billion price, the slice works out to about $332.5 million for the new investors. Neither outlet reports who the buyers are or how, exactly, the transaction is structured, so those pieces of the puzzle remain off the board.
Sportsnet also picked up the Sportico story and pointed out that the sale comes while Dundon is in the process of trying to acquire the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, with no clear indication yet whether those two moves are linked. Sportsnet noted that the news landed just ahead of the NHL trade deadline, adding a boardroom subplot to the on-ice maneuvering. Dundon first bought his majority stake in the Hurricanes in 2018, then finished buying out the remaining minority interests in 2021. Since he took over, the team has seen sharp increases in attendance, ticket revenue and corporate partnerships, according to NHL.com.
Soaring Price Tag Lifts Canes Up NHL Ladder
If that $2.66 billion valuation holds, it would vault Carolina well above its roughly $1.92 billion mark from last fall and into a higher tier of NHL franchises. RealGM's summary of last year's Sportico valuations highlighted that gap and the larger league trend: richer media deals, new arena and development projects and strong investor appetite have all pushed NHL franchise prices sharply higher.
Dundon's Bigger Sports Play
Dundon has not limited his ambitions to Raleigh. His group reached a tentative agreement last year to buy the Portland Trail Blazers, a deal that will still need approval from the NBA's Board of Governors, as reported by the Associated Press. Around PNC Arena, the Hurricanes have poured money into the surrounding area and piled up a sellout streak, developments that have helped drive revenue growth and given Dundon room to cash out a minority piece at a premium, according to NHL.com. The reporting does not spell out whether the new minority partners will have a hand in future arena or real estate projects or simply act as passive financial backers.
The Charlotte Observer noted that Dundon could not be reached for comment and that neither the Hurricanes nor the NHL has issued a public statement on the deal. For now, everyone from fans to financiers is waiting on formal filings, league approvals or a team announcement that reveals who the new partners are and how the fresh capital will be put to work.
