Naples-based Hoffmann Family of Companies buys Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team

As Naples billionaire David Hoffmann spoke, an undisclosed amount of money believed to be just south of $1.8 billion was being wired from his family’s company to Fenway Sports Group.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have changed hands and are now owned by Naples-based Hoffmann Family of Companies, which is owned by the Hoffmann family themselves.

The Florida Everblades, a minor league affiliate in the ECHL, will be affiliated with the Penguins when the 2026-27 season begins. When the Hoffmanns bought the Everblades and Hertz Arena in 2019 in Estero, it marked their first foray into professional sports ownership.

“It’s exciting, and it’s fun,” David Hoffmann said in an exclusive interview June 24. “We plan on putting together a winning franchise, the same as the Everblades, which is awesome. We’ve won four out of the five past championships. Nobody’s ever done that. We’re planning on taking that winning to Pittsburgh. We’re going to invest whatever it takes.”

Although the amount of the transaction is undisclosed, Forbes and CNBC estimated the Pittsburgh Penguins value between $1.75 and $1.76 billion.

Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Boston Red Sox, paid an estimated $875 million for the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to Forbes, in 2021. FSG began looking for additional investors in 2025, which led to discussions about an outright sale of the hockey team to the Hoffmanns.

Geoff Hoffmann, 45, David’s oldest son and CEO of the private equity side of the Hoffmann companies, will represent the family, the Pittsburgh Penguins and NHL on the league’s Board of Governors. The NHL approved the Penguins sale June 23. The deal closed June 24, and the family was slated to have a news conference at 11 a.m. June 25 in Pittsburgh.

“This is my son Geoff’s deal,” David Hoffmann said. “And my son Greg is the assistant governor. Honest to God, I wasn’t that involved. I went to a few meetings with the NHL. But, by and large, Geoff probably went to 20 meetings. They’re going to the draft and representing the Penguins. It’s really their deal. Especially Geoff. He took the lead.”

Geoff Hoffmann, who was traveling to Pittsburgh for the news conference, couldn’t be reached for a phone interview but did respond in writing on his hockey interests.

“I have four boys, and we’re the definition of a ‘hockey family,’” Geoff Hoffmann wrote. “I think we spend more time at the rink than we do at home. I’m very proud of my sons, and I’m particularly excited for my two eldest to be playing varsity hockey together this fall, especially with my oldest son entering his senior year.”

Although Geoff Hoffmann and his family live in the Chicago area, he admired the tenacity of Pittsburgh.

“Pittsburgh is a city built on hard work, loyalty and pride, which are values that align directly with how we operate at Hoffmann Family of Companies,” Geoff Hoffmann wrote. “We’re committed to this city and this team for the long haul.

“This is a defining moment for us. The Penguins represent everything Hoffmann Family of Companies stand for – community, excellence and long-term thinking. We’re a family-owned organization operating across more than 200 brands in 30 countries, and this acquisition sits at the intersection of our hospitality, entertainment and community investment work in a way nothing else has. It’s our largest investment to date, and that’s not something we take lightly.”

Greg Hoffmann, David’s youngest son and CEO of the companies’ real estate assets, was involved on the real estate side.

“We initially started discussions over a year ago,” David Hoffmann said. “We’re all very happy about it. It just took a long time, because it was such a complicated transaction.”

It was a complicated transaction because it involved much more than the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hoffmanns also bought another professional hockey team.

The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League also have been acquired by the Hoffmanns. The Pennsylvania minor league team had been owned by a group of investors that included Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.

“It’s like buying another Everblades, but it’s at another level,” Hoffmann said. “So that was complicated with another arena.”

The door is now open for Lemieux to reconnect with the Pittsburgh Penguins, David Hoffmann said.

“He and my son Geoff have become friends, and we think the world of him,” he said. “Complete class act.”

The transaction had other quirks to it.

“There were 53 player contracts and all kinds of other stuff,” David Hoffmann said. “We have a local TV station that televises the Pirates games and the Pittsburgh Penguins (SportsNet Pittsburgh). We co-own that with the Pirates. So that’s more complications.”

The Penguins play at PPG Paints Arena, which is owned by Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County and leased by the team.

Next door to PPG Paints Arena is Stage AE, a 5,500-seat outdoor amphitheater that opened in 2010.

“LiveNation built an amphitheater right next to the arena,” David Hoffmann said. “So we own a chunk of that. All these things needed to be dealt with individually. And then there’s an office tower near the arena. The Penguins have an interest in that.”

The NHL and Fenway Sports Group helped make the lengthy, complicated financial transaction run smoothly, David Hoffmann said.

“It went well,” he said. “We have nothing but the greatest of things to say about the NHL and how they managed the process. David Zimmerman, their general counsel, was very good, very professional, very thorough. Which I think is good. Fenway was a delight to deal with. They were really a good seller.”

Florida Everblades general manager Craig Brush said it was fair to say the ongoing experience of owning the minor league team whetted the Hoffmanns’ appetites to aim higher.

“They’re our good luck charm,” said Brush, whose team won one Kelly Cup in 2012, prior to Hoffmanns’ ownership – and four Kelly Cups since in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026. “Our team has never been better since they took over.

“The things that they did to the arena – they modernized it. They’ve done a lot of things behind the scenes. It makes a difference for the fans coming in there. It’s reflective in our attendance. When you get more people in the building, it’s better for the team, and the team does better.”

A day before the news conference, Brush was on vacation in Michigan. David Hoffmann was en route to Pittsburgh. And Geoff Hoffmann consummated the deal, signing the closing documents – in Chicago.

“It’s a great thing for everybody,” David Hoffmann said. “It’s a great thing for Florida and the Everblades. It’s a great thing for Pittsburgh. They have some talented players. And Kyle Dubas; we’re very high on the general manager. My son and him have developed a great working relationship. We think the world of Kyle.

“We’re just the stewards of the team. We’re long-term players. I doubt if the Everblades will ever be sold. I doubt if the Penguins will ever be sold.”