"Hawks part-owner Bruce Levenson denied a report Thursday by Sports Illustrated that the basketball team is on the verge of being sold.

"Not true," Levenson said in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We will issue a statement shortly."

That statement indicated a deal is not imminent but reiterated that the Hawks' owners are at least seeking new investors.

"As we have stated for an extended period of time, we engaged an investment banker to assist us in looking for investors for the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena operating rights," the statement said. "We have spoken with a number of parties, but at this time, there is no deal in place, nor is there an exclusive negotiating agreement in place. We will have no further comment at this time."

As the AJC has previously reported, the Hawks' ownership group, through investment bank The Raine Group, has had talks with various potential buyers or investors over the past year. Those efforts continue.

Typically, a prospective seller and buyer of a sports franchise would enter an exclusive negotiating agreement when talks reach a serious, detailed stage.

The Hawks' owners this spring entered an exclusivity agreement with outgoing San Diego Padres owner John Moores about a possible sale of a majority stake in the basketball team, but that agreement was mutually ended May 20 after negotiations built little momentum. The end of Moores' exclusivity reopened the process to other bidders."