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Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have submitted signed financial documentation to the NBA to complete their acquisition of majority control of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx from Glen Taylor, multiple sources briefed on the matter said. The Athletic.
Dyal Capital Partners has joined the Lore-Rodríguez group as an investor, giving them the final financial support necessary to complete the transaction, industry sources said.
The move is an important step for the group as they look to purchase the final 40 percent stake in the franchise, which would allow them to succeed Taylor as primary owners. Their ownership structure still must be approved by the NBA Board of Governors before they can assume full control of the franchises, although it was not immediately clear how long that process could take.
Lore and Rodríguez own 40 percent of the team, the result of two previous purchases of 20 percent of Taylor’s equity dating back to 2021. When the two friends initially agreed to the succession plan, it was designed with the intention of a gradual move towards controlling partners. The structure of the deal was attractive to Taylor, who was not yet ready to relinquish full control of the teams at the time, and to Lore and Rodriguez, who wanted time to learn the ins and outs of professional basketball and get their finances in order to complete it. the purchase of 1.5 billion dollars.
In December, Lore and Rodríguez exercised their option to buy the final 40 percent of the deal. That opened a 90-day window to close the purchase, giving them until March 27 to present the documentation and commitment letters necessary to make it official.
This move comes a day after it was reported that Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, had withdrawn its $300 million from the Lore-Rodriguez group. League sources said The Athletic that Carlyle could not agree to certain requirements that the NBA makes of investors, so it was mutually agreed that Carlyle would retire.
“The NBA did not deny Carlyle’s proposed investment in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx,” league spokesman Mike Bass said. The Athletic.
When it became clear that Carlyle could not move forward with the group, Lore and Rodríguez quickly sought new partners to accumulate the capital needed to move the process forward, aligning with Dyal Capital to complete their group.
Among those known to belong to its ownership group is Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google.
The final steps of the process unfolded during an extraordinary season for the Timberwolves. They are 47-22 and are in third place in the Western Conference, just one game behind Denver and Oklahoma City.
The resurgence has ushered in a new era of popularity for the Timberwolves in Minnesota. They have sold out every home game, an attendance increase of nearly 10 percent from last season. Local television ratings have skyrocketed and Anthony Edwards has become one of the league’s brightest young stars.
Lore and Rodriguez have been integral to the success, leading the recruitment of Tim Connelly, the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, out of Denver in May 2022. Lore and Rodriguez have had a much greater influence within the organization than the owners. typical minorities, with Taylor approving their input to help ease the transition, should that happen with league approval.
(Photo by Alex Rodríguez and Marc Lore: David Berding /Getty Images)