The Sports Authority will become a private company once acquired for about $1 billion by a group of its senior management and the investment firm Leonard Green & Partners, which also owns Neiman Marcus Group and FTD Group, the retailer said. The deal is subject to the approval of shareholders, who are to vote on the matter May 2, the retailer said on Friday.

The total value of the transaction will amount to about $1.3 billion, including the cash purchase, at $37.25 per share, of 26.4 million outstanding shares of common stock, options to purchase another 1.6 million shares, plus the assumption of debt. “As a private company, Sports Authority will have greater flexibility to accomplish its long-term goals,” the retailer said.

Leonard Green, currently manages about $3.7 billion in equity capital, including retail properties Neiman Marcus Group, Rite Aid, FTD Group and The Tire Rack. Sports Authority chairman and CEO J. Douglas Morton, president David J. Campisi and four other executives are also among the buyers.

The Sports Authority is No. 107 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites.