Billionaire entrepreneur Alex Meruelo is in the advanced stages of purchasing a majority share of the Arizona Coyotes, league sources confirmed. If approved by a vote of the NHL Board of Governors, the sale would transfer a substantial majority stake in the team (percentage unknown) to Meruelo, with current owner Andrew Barroway retaining a small minority share.

With the two sides having ironed out several key material issues in the past two weeks, the vote is expected to be on the agenda at the NHL Board of Governors meeting on June 19 in Las Vegas, site of the annual NHL Awards show. Even if the Board of Governors approves the sale, however, a closing date may not come until later this summer.

It is unclear how the organization’s desire for a new arena fits into the ongoing talks. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is on record as having said the team must have a new arena to survive in Arizona, but it’s unclear whether that attitude has changed. Gila River Arena’s Glendale location is not ideal because the vast majority of Coyotes season ticket holders and premium season ticket holders live on the east side of town, but league sources said that for the foreseeable future, Meruelo’s focus would be on making the team successful in Arizona.

Bettman has referred all recent questions regarding the sale of the team to Coyotes executives. When reached for comment, Coyotes president Ahron Cohen issued this statement without further comment: “What I can confirm right now is that Alex Meruelo is very interested in purchasing the Coyotes. Alex’s track record of strong business success certainly precedes him – and it makes him a great candidate to help our team build upon the positive momentum we have established over the past year. We will keep all the members of Our Pack updated on important milestones moving forward.”

If the sale is completed, it is believed that Meruelo, who is Cuban-American, would become the only majority Latino owner currently in the NHL. His ownership could open up possibilities in a Latino market that has gone largely untapped by the NHL. Meruelo’s knowledge of the media and gaming landscapes could also create opportunities to weave those areas of expertise into the team’s platform.

Meruelo, 55, has a wide-ranging array of construction, real estate and other holdings throughout the American Southwest, including the recently purchased SLS Las Vegas (formerly the Sahara Hotel and Casino), which also has a location challenge because it is well north of the better-known resorts along Las Vegas Strip. Meruelo also owns the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, and the Meruelo Group owns an Orange County, Calif., bank, stations KWHY-TV and KBEH-TV, and radio stations Power 106 (KPWR), KDAY and KDEY-FM under the Meruelo Media banner.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Meruelo began his entrepreneurial career by running a downtown Los Angeles tuxedo rental shop. He saved enough money to start investing in property, buying a small apartment building in Huntington Park and then a plot of land in Riverside that he eventually sold to Walmart, a deal he told the Los Angeles Times made him a millionaire in his early 20s. At age 23, he took over a failing pizza chain by another name and rebranded it La Pizza Loca. The chain caters to Latinos by, among other things, offering ethnic-specific toppings such as chorizo and jalapenos. La Pizza Loca now boasts more than 50 restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Meruelo has a history of buying troubled assets, improving them and then holding on to them, rather than selling or flipping them. The pizza chain and his two casinos are prime examples.

“I just look at opportunities and I buy at distressed values,” he told the Times. “I’m not much of a seller.”

In 2011, Meruelo ended his bid to buy the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Citing sources, the Los Angeles Times offered two reasons: The league worried that the deal was too highly leveraged, and NBA officials asked for additional financial considerations not included in the original agreement.

Meruelo told the Times that he and former Hawks owner Bruce Levenson agreed to a price — but league officials demanded he pay more.

“The NBA wanted me to put up another $50 million, and I said, ‘No,’” he said. Just a few years later, the Hawks sold for a reported $850 million — more than twice what Meruelo would have paid — to a group led by private equity investor Antony Ressler.

If his purchase of the Coyotes goes through, it would bring to an end the four-year ownership of Barroway, who became the team’s majority owner in 2015 and bought out his IceArizona partners in 2017. Barroway bought control of the Coyotes in early 2015 for $305 million.

Although the sale of the team may not be completed until later this summer, a vote of approval by the Board of Governors could alter the team’s budget and how much money president of hockey operations John Chayka has to spend, both in free agency, which begins July 1, and under the confines of the league’s salary cap.

Meruelo Group does not have outside investors, making Alex Meruelo the sole owner of his portfolio of companies. Estimates of his net worth vary, but when asked by the Times, he paraphrased oil tycoon J. Paul Getty: “If you have to count your money, you’re not a billionaire.”

(Photo of Alex Meruelo: Scott Cunningham / NBAE via Getty Images)