Pegula eyes sale of noncontrolling, minority stake in Bills

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula is looking into a potential sale of a minority interest in the team, the team said in a statement Friday, while emphasizing that no new investment would involve changing the Pegula family’s controlling interest.

“The Pegula family has retained Allen & Company to explore the potential sale of a non-controlling, minority interest in the Bills,” the team said in its statement. “These discussions only involve the Bills and no other team. No investment would be possible without Terry Pegula and the Pegula family maintaining a controlling interest in the team.

“Their continued commitment to Western New York, the new Highmark Stadium, our fans, and the other teams in their portfolio remains unchanged. Neither the team nor the Pegula family are able to comment further at this point.”

The Pegulas, who also own the Buffalo Sabres, the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks, and the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans, purchased the Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion. Forbes reported in August that the Bills now are worth $3.7 billion, while Pegula is worth $6.8 billion.

The Washington Commanders sold in July for a record $6.05 billion.

The Bills are amid construction on new Highmark Stadium, which is being built across the street from their current stadium in Orchard Park. The stadium, which was initially expected to cost $1.4 billion, received a then-historic $850 million in public funding, with the Pegulas handling all additional costs.

As ESPN reported in March, the NFL is looking into potentially altering regulations surrounding team ownership, including private equity firms being a possibility, as many other professional leagues, such as the NBA, MLB and NHL, allow.