AJC: Meruelo set to take 'complete control' of team from ASG

[Hawksquawk]

The AJC’s Tim Tucker reports that L.A. businessman Alex Meruelo is set to buy a controlling stake in the Hawks and the operating rights for Philips Arena. The deal is subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors.

Meruelo is not allowed to comment on his specific plans for the Hawks or the team’s personnel because he’s not yet been approved as owner and also because of the lockout. But Meruelo did tell Tucker that although some members of the Atlanta Spirit ownership group would remain as minority partners, “I will be in complete control of the team.”

Meruelo told Tucker there is no circumstance in which he would seek to move the team from Atlanta and that he planned to be a “hands-on” owner like he is in his other business ventures. Meruelo’s career in business began with a chain of pizza restaurants and his portfolio eventually grew to include real estate holdings, a bank, a casino and a television station.

Michael Cunningham, Hawks …

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