Dallas businessman David McDavid has agreed in principle to purchase the Hawks, Thrashers, and Philips Arena.

McDavid is the former minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks and made his money in the auto business.

Here's some background on David McDavid, whose name has been popping up as a potential buyer for the Dallas Stars. McDavid was part owner of the Dallas Mavericks at one point and has reportedly tried to buy some other pro sports franchises, including the Colorado Avalanche.

David McDavid
Vital Info
Age: 60
Occupation: President and Chief Executive Officer of Asbury Automotive Texas
Background
His father started the family auto empire in 1936 with an Oldsmobile used-car lot in Houston. David got his start in the auto business by washing cars on his father's lot in the late 1940's.

David McDavid established his first dealership (General Motors) in Weatherford in 1962. He was 19 at the time.He would eventually go on to own more than a dozen dealerships in Texas.

In 1996 he joined Ross Perot, Jr. and other investors in buying the Dallas Mavericks for $125 million. McDavid owned 12 percent of the team, which was sold to Mark Cuban for $280 million in 2000. The value of McDavid's stake went from $15.6 million to $35 million in the deal.

In 1997 he sold 70 % of his interest in the 17-dealership David McDavid Auto Group to Connecticut-based Asbury Automotive Group. Press reports valued the deal at about $400 million.

McDavid has formed a Dallas-based investment company, DMc Group, with his brother-in-law, Stephen Dieb, in order to buy a sports franchise. Among the teams he has reportedly tried to buy in the past were the Charlotte Hornets and Denver Nuggets of the NBA and the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.

Besides being interested in the Stars, McDavid apparently is looking at another unidentified sports franchise.

Quotable
"Anytime you have teams struggling, and I believe there are as many as nine teams on the market, you had better be concerned." McDavid on the state of the NHL in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.

"We want to be someplace where you can really recruit the players. Guys want that good quality of life." -- McDavid's partner, Stephen Dieb, on why he and McDavid would like to own a team either in the South or on the West Coast.

Press conference will likely not occur until sale is final.