Herb Kohl, a billionaire businessman and former senator from Wisconsin, has been under increasing pressure to find a wealthy new owner for the Milwaukee Bucks, a franchise in a tiny market he has controlled since 1985. Kohl and a consortium founded by New York-based investment tycoons Wes Edens and Marc Lasry have come to terms with the team’s sale after considerable conjecture and hearsay. The league still needs to approve the $550 million deal at the upcoming Board of Governors meeting.

One key need for entering Kohl’s “Milwaukee Bucks Tent” is a firm commitment to keeping the franchise in Wisconsin. Kohl has been introducing prospective owners there. Due to this, the wealthy Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen, who came close to moving the Sacramento Kings to Seattle last year, were disqualified as possible purchasers. Wes Edens and Marc Lasry have emerged as the leading purchasers after a feverish negotiating process, but the names of their rivals are yet unknown.

Read: https://www.nba.com/bucks/bio-wesley-r-edens

The founder of New York City-based Fortress Investment Group, a publicly listed private equity company, is Wes Edens, 52. During the economic crisis, the firm experienced difficult circumstances, which caused Edens’ net worth to decrease to $1.2 billion. Avenue Capital Group, a multibillion-dollar hedge fund investment company, was co-founded by Marc Lasry. His estimated net worth is $1.7 billion, and he was just offered the position of US Ambassador to France.

Both Kohl and the new ownership group have declared their intention to contribute to building a new arena for the Bucks. According to reports, the existing BMO Harris Bradley Center, completed in 1988, is a few hundred thousand square feet undersized for league needs. However, the group had a dismal 15-66 record going into Wednesday night’s season finale and hadn’t won a postseason series since 2000-01.

Read more about Wes Edens on peoplepill.com