Cablevision Systems Corporation, which owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, has announced a $10.5 billion deal to be purchased privately by the Dolan family, the public company's controlling shareholders.

This was the Dolans' third attempt to buy out Cablevision's stockholders in recent years, with the previous two attempts unsuccessful.

In a statement released Wednesday, Cablevision's board of directors announced that the company had voted to accept the Dolans' offer of $36.26 per share on the advice of a special committee of independent directors.