The history repeats it self. Almost three years after Glen Taylor agreed to the sale of the Timberwolves and Lynx, the owner has announced that this is canceled and that he will continue to lead both franchises. In 2021, Marc Lore and Alex Rodríguez reached an agreement to take over a majority share of the organization for a total of $1.5 billion, which they agreed to pay in installments.
Businessman and former baseball player had already paid 40% of the total amount, although they had encountered financing problems. Yesterday, Wednesday, March 27, was the deadline to pay another 40% more. Deadline that, according to Taylor, they have not been able to meet, which cancels the sale. At the beginning of this March, Lore and Rodríguez lost the financial support of Carlyle Group, but everything indicated that they had managed to replace it with the help of Dyal Capital Partners. Another private investment fund. According to The Athleticthe group submitted the paperwork for its payment to be accepted by the NBA last week.
Lore and Rodríguez claim to have met the deadlines, but Taylor differs on this. Adrian Wojnarowski report that relations between the buying duo and Taylor had “disintegrated” over the past two years. This is how the Wolves owner expresses himself in the official statement who vetoes the sale:
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I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the resources necessary to compete at the highest level on and off the track. Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.
Glen Taylor, owner of Timberwolves and Lynx
This is the buyers’ reply:
Statement from spokesperson on behalf of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, reading in part: “We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process.” pic.twitter.com/QyotXmkRTP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 28, 2024
A not so surprising outcome
It is not the first time that the attempted sale of this franchise ends in ruins. Taylor has been the owner of the Timberwolves since 1994 (they entered the league in 1989) and of the WNBA Lynx since 1999. At first, this operation seemed definitive, but the context has changed a lot in these three years. First, because the financial revaluation of the franchises meant that the sale was ‘downward’ in the current panorama. The Wolves ended the year 2021 valued at a total of 1.4 billion dollars by the magazine Forbes and the interest of making payment in installments meant selling above the financial value of the moment. However, the organization ended the year 2023 valued at $2.5 billion.
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This year the team is having its best season in the last 17 years and they have one of the faces of the league in Anthony Edwards. Factors that abound in the controversy of reversing the sale decision. Given this situation, it is not ruled out that Lore, Rodríguez and the investment groups involved intend to bring the case to justice.
(Cover photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
2024-03-28 16:37:32
#sale #Minnesota #Timberwolves #aborted
