According to a newspaper report Tuesday Hornets owner George Shinn has reached a deal to regain full control of the team he founded in 1987.

Shinn has been in negotiations for months to buy out his minority partner, Ray Wooldridge, who paid $56 million for a 35 percent stake in the team in July 1999.

Shinn will pay $65 million to Wooldridge if the deal is approved by the NBA's board of governors, who have been sent the paperwork for review, The Times-Picayune reported.