Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has sold a majority stake of the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to an investor group led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik announced Thursday that he has sold a majority stake of the NHL team but will retain control of the franchise for the next three years.

The NHL’s Board of Governors approved a partial sale of the Lightning from majority owner Jeff Vinik to a group of investors led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz.

The sale of the Lightning comes just over a year after Vinik exited Strategic Property Partners, the developer of Water Street Tampa, by selling his share of the firm to Kirkland, Washington-based Cascade Investment LLC. Cascade is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' investment fund and was Vinik's partner from the inception of SPP in 2014.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Chairman and Governor Jeff Vinik and Vinik Sports Group sold a portion of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vinik Sports Group to a group of investors.

Back in 2010, the Lightning were a franchise in disarray. The new owners had run out of money, fans had run out of patience and the organization was teetering on the edge of disaster. That is, until a low-key Wall Street investor from Boston saw something promising in this mess and decided to buy in.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are making some changes in the control room, with a portion of the franchise being sold to a group of investors led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz, the team announced on Thursday.