(CNN) — Tech investor Marc Stad is acquiring a controlling interest in the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in a deal valued at $4.5 billion, sources close to the agreement told CNN on Friday.
It marks the second multibillion-dollar sale of a professional basketball organization this month, with the Los Angeles Lakers selling for a record-breaking $12.5 billion.
In Minnesota, the transaction marks the second ownership shift for the basketball clubs in just a little over a year. Stad, who is a founder of San Francisco-based investment firm Dragoneer Investment Partners, was a minority investor in a group — led by billionaire Marc Lore and former baseball player Alex Rodriguez — that bought the franchises from longtime owner Glen Taylor for $1.5 billion in a yearslong deal finalized last summer.
This latest transaction, with Stad acquiring the majority of Lore’s stake, has been months in the making, sources told CNN.
Rodriguez is expected to maintain his role in the ownership team and as governor of the Lynx. Stad will be joined at the ownership table with his wife, Elisa, who will serve as the Timberwolves’ governor, the sources confirmed to CNN.
The change at the owners’ table is coming at a pivotal time for the franchises.
The Timberwolves, seeking to boost their title hopes, acquired LaMelo Ball in a blockbuster four-team trade last month. The Wolves are coming off three consecutive deep runs in the playoffs.
The Lynx, which have a firm hold on first place in the WNBA, are in pursuit of their fifth championship and led in part by the electric play of rookie Olivia Miles, perennial MVP candidate Napheesa Collier and veteran guard Kayla McBride.
In a joint statement provided Friday to CNN, Stad, Rodriguez and Lore said they remain steadfast in their goal to build the Timberwolves and Lynx into the best organizations “in basketball on and off the floor.”
The ownership group, which last year invested $1.5 million in “theater”-style lighting at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, has publicly expressed interest in building a new arena for the teams.
“Our new agreement, pending league approval, is an evolution of the partnership we have built together and strengthening of our commitment to our team and our culture,” they wrote in the statement, adding that they will continue to work closely with the Wolves and Lynx’s executives and coaches. “While we’re proud of the great work we’ve done, there’s so much more to do and we’re just getting started.”
The NBA board of governors will have to approve the Wolves and Lynx sale, as well as that of the Los Angeles Lakers, which are being sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner.
The-CNN-Wire
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