WRAL Sports Fan

Hurricanes

Checkers owner buys piece of Canes

Oct 13, 2011

Raleigh, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said Thursday that Michael Kahn, the owner of the Charlotte Checkers minor-league hockey team, has become a part-owner of the Canes.

The Checkers are the Canes' affiliate in the American Hockey League.

“Both organizations, the Hurricanes and the Checkers, are heavily committed to the growth of hockey in the Carolinas,” Kahn said in a statement. “Investing in the Hurricanes not only solidifies my support for Mr. Karmanos and his vision for the sport in the South but also my support and belief in the growth of the game.

"The Hurricanes are a top notch organization led by Mr. Karmanos and (President and General Manager Jim) Rutherford, and I am extremely excited to have been afforded the opportunity to join them," Kahn said. "I believe both organizations have very bright futures, and I look forward to what is on the horizon for the Hurricanes, Checkers and the sport of hockey itself."

There was no word on the size of Kahn's stake in the Canes, but Karmanos has been looking for more than a year for partners to buy as much as half of the team.

Tom Thewes, who was Karmanos' business partner, died in September 2008. Since then, the organization has been looking for options to fill his role.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Kahn is chief operating officer of Empire Distributors Inc., a wine and spirits business founded by his grandfather in 1940. He lives with his wife and three sons in Charlotte, where he has been nominated as Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year.