Hockey legend Mario Lemieux is miffed at billionaire investor Ron Burkle for messing up the sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins, The Post has learned.
After six months of trying to sell the team, the two men — both significant minority owners of the NHL team — recently called off the sale, three sources told The Post.
There were reports that Lemieux, who owns roughly 40 percent of the team, and Burkle, with a 25 percent stake, initially were looking to get more than $700 million for the Penguins and a development site, a source said.
The team did attract a bid recently that Lemieux wanted to accept — but Burkle turned it aside, two sources said.
“Mario believes Burkle messed it up,” a source close to a potential suitor said.
“It is consistent with my understanding that [Lemieux] and Burkle had different asking prices,” a separate source said.
The strategic review was prompted by Lemieux wanting a little liquidity, a source said.
The team, if it makes the playoffs, is marginally profitable, sources said. However, if it misses out on postseason play, it operates in the red, a source said.
Burkle, who Forbes in 2014 said was worth $3 billion, likely believed that if Steve Ballmer was willing to pay $2 billion for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, then the Penguins and its real estate were worth more than $700 million, sources said.
“I think what they asked for was just ridiculous,” a source said.
“They thought they had NBA pricing, but the NHL doesn’t even have a significant national US television contract,” the source added.
The value of the Canadian TV contract has fallen sharply alongside the Canadian dollar.
The NHL likely, too, did not want to see the Penguins sell for much less than $700 million, considering the league is asking expansion teams to pay $500 million to join the league.
A much lower selling price — especially for a storied franchise like the nearly 50-year-old Penguins, who have won three Stanley Cups — could have put pressure on the expansion fee.
Burkle, through a spokesperson, said, “There’s no truth to these rumors.” Lemieux and the Penguins did not return calls.
Update:
Since publication of this story, Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux issued a joint statement that “There is no disagreement between us, and we remain completely aligned in both approach and philosophy. We continue to explore all of our strategic options, including a possible sale. There is not, and has never been, an established price for the team, and we are still in conversations with potential buyers.”