Atlanta Hawks, LLC

Atlanta Hawks, LLC (formerly known as Atlanta Spirit LLC) was an

Atlanta Spirit LLC was originally composed of three companies: a Boston-based company (run by Steve Belkin), an Atlanta-based company (composed of J. Rutherford Seydel, Todd Foreman, J. Michael Gearon, Sr., Beau Turner and Bud Seretean)^[1] and a Washington, D.C.-based company (composed of Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman).^[2] The Boston-based company was bought out by the Atlanta and Washington, D.C. groups in 2010 following conflicts between the three groups.^[3]

Bud Seretean died in 2007. In 2014, Levenson announced he would sell his share of the company; however, by January 2015, every partner in the ownership group agreed to sell their stakes in the team, putting the entire franchise up for sale.^[4]

History

In 2004, Atlanta Spirit LLC bought the

In the summer of 2005, the Atlanta Hawks finalized a trade with the Phoenix Suns to obtain shooting guard Joe Johnson for Boris Diaw and two protected future first-round picks. While this trade met with the approval of the majority of the ownership group, it was rejected by Belkin, who held a controlling vote as the Hawks Governor within the group. This triggered legal proceedings to force Belkin out of the group. On December 23, 2010, the group led by Gearon and Levenson announced they had bought out Belkin's ownership share in Atlanta Spirit LLC.^[5] This elevated the Washington-based company shares to more than 50 percent and effective control of the group.^[6]

In 2007, Spirit co-founder Bud Seretean died at the age of 83.^[7]

On May 31, 2011, the Atlanta Spirit LLC sold the Thrashers to

Although Ted Turner is not a part of this group, there are many connections to him: Beau Turner is his youngest son, J. Rutherford Seydel is his son-in-law,^[11][12] Michael Gearon Sr. was the general manager (1977–79), president (1977–1986) and chairman of the board (1986–2004) of the Atlanta Hawks while Turner was their owner,^[13] and Seretean was also a former president and general manager of the Hawks (1975–77) and a former board member of Turner Broadcasting System.^{[citation needed]}

References