Apollo’s Harris and Blackstone’s Blitzer Strike Deal for Devils

Private equity has struck another deal for yet another professional sports team, as two prominent leveraged buyout investors agreed on Thursday to buy the New Jersey Devils for about $320 million.

Ownership for the National Hockey League team will pass on to Joshua Harris, a cofounder of Apollo Global Management, and David S. Blitzer, the head of tactical opportunities for the Blackstone Group. Both men are members of the consortium that bought the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, with Mr. Harris serving as principal owner.

Though neither man is a native of Philadelphia, both graduated from the University of Pennsylvania‘s Wharton School and have long rooted for the city’s teams. But both men are part of the latest generation of financiers to buy pro sports organizations as trophy properties.

A group of private equity moguls, including Bain Capital’s Steve Pagliuca, already owns the Boston Celtics. And Tom Gores of Platinum Equity controls the Detroit Pistons alongside his firm. Since 2002, the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox has been John W. Henry, who took over Liverpool Football Club in the fall of 2010.

(Mr. Harris and Mr. Blitzer are taking control of the Devils from Jeff Vanderbeek, a former Lehman Brothers executive who had held an ownership stake in the team since 2000.)

Part of the selling point for bringing in private equity owners â€" other than their big bank accounts â€" is their expertise in turning around troubled enterprises.

The Devils have struggled of late, having failed to go beyond the first round of the N.H.L. playoffs or missing the postseason entirely in five of the last six years.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mr. Harris pledged to do his best to lift the hockey franchise’s fortunes:

“We’ve had a lot of success at identifying literally the best, highest-quality management teams and then bringing them into situations and letting them do their thing and holding them accountable,” Harris said. “Other people may like to meddle in it. What we like to do in essence is agree what the vision is, what the business plan is and then resource it and allow people to do their jobs.”