An agreement in principle between Hornets minority owner Gary Chouest and majority owner George Shinn for Chouest to purchase Shinn's share was reached three weeks ago.

However, the completion of the deal is now being delayed by Chouest's desire to put together an out-of-state group of minority owners, sources told the Times-Picayune on Monday.

No definite percentage is known, but sources said that Chouest is seeking to have a group of minority investors purchase "a significant chunk" of the 75 percent of the team that he'll purchase from Shinn.