— Texas businessman Tom Dundon signed an agreement Thursday to become the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes.

The announcement ended months of speculation as to who might buy the team from Peter Karmanos Jr., the man who brought professional hockey to the Carolinas. Throughout the process of trying to sell the franchise he purchased in 1994, Karmanos has said that any sale of the franchise would be contingent on it remaining in Raleigh.

The team announced the agreement Thursday, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the team would not move.

"I am thrilled to continue to build upon what Peter Karmanos started in Raleigh," Dundon said in a statement released Thursday evening. "The Hurricanes are a team on the rise, and I believe we have an opportunity to take the franchise to the next level. I'm ready to get to work."

Pending approval and finalization of the sale, Dundon will take control of all team operations.

Dundon, 44, is the former CEO and president of Santander Consumers USA Inc., a giant subprime auto lender that he founded and ran until July 2015. He is also the chairman of Topgolf International Inc. and chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners, a Dallas-based private investment firm.

"Tom has had tremendous success in business, and I fully expect that to continue as he takes control of the Hurricanes," Karmanos said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him and bringing another Stanley Cup to North Carolina."

The Hurricanes said Karmanos Jr. will maintain an equity stake in the team. In 1997, Karmanos relocated the team to North Carolina, where it has captured three division titles, two conference titles and the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship.

Karmanos purchased the franchise, then in Hartford, Conn., as the Whalers, on June 28, 1994 for about $47 million. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.

Dundon's move to purchase the team comes after months of speculation that a group led by Texas-based attorney Chuck Greenberg would buy the franchise. Sources told WRAL in July that Karmanos and Greenberg's group had a deal in place, but it was never finalized.

Talks with Greenberg slowed in recent months, and Hurricanes President Don Waddell said in November that the team had interest from "multiple" other parties.

In its most recent franchise valuations, Forbes magazine ranked the Hurricanes last in the NHL at $230 million. Bill Foley paid a $500 million expansion fee to the league to bring the Golden Knights to Las Vegas.

Carolina ranks next to last in the league in attendance this season, averaging 11,863 fans through 13 home games, after finishing last in the NHL in each of the previous two seasons. The Hurricanes drew an average of just 11,776 fans to their 18,680-seat home arena in 2016-17 and filled it to just 63 percent capacity — their lowest per-game average since they moved into the building for the 1999-2000 season. They averaged just 12,204 at home the year before.

The best way to improve those numbers, of course, is with a winning team — and it's been a while since Carolina had one.

The 2006 Stanley Cup champions have made the postseason only once (2009) since the club captured its lone title. They have the longest playoff drought in the NHL at eight years. The Hurricanes entered Thursday night's game at San Jose with an 11-10-5 record, tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division, and were six points out of a wild-card playoff spot with 27 points.