Timberwolves Sale Collapses The released a statement Thursday morning announcing their sale to entrepreneur Marc Lore and
baseball legend
Alex Rodriguez had collapsed and the team “was no longer for sale.” Lore/Rodriguez had accumulated 40% of the team in two previous transactions and were to close on the remaining 40% early this year after exercising an option to take control in December. Though the sale was originally priced at $1.5 billion, the terms of the deal appear to have required later tranches to reprice to represent the team’s value at the time of the payment, and the total value of the sale was believed to have ballooned to over $2 billion. Rumors that the Wolves were for sale had been swirling for as long as a decade, but Taylor made it official in 2021 announcing the team was going to be sold to Lore/Rodriguez in a series of three transactions, which would give the group 80% and leave Taylor with 20%. Recent media reports had the Lore group seeking venture capital to buy their final 40%, and it was reported earlier that . Yet , which had been submitted to the
NBA for approval. It’s unclear why, if Lore and Rodriguez had succeeded in financing the purchase, Taylor would pull the rug out. The team’s announcement today seems to indicate Taylor either has lost patience with the Lore consortium or is using their failure as an opportunity to seek out a new buyer as the Wolves complete a dominating season and NBA team values skyrocket. It has appeared as if Lore’s group has been running the team in some respects, recruiting and hiring executives, including new president of
basketball Tim Connelly. Lore and Rodriguez, though minority owners, frequently were designated to comment on moves, which is hardly typical in pro sports. The impression of many observers was that the sale was a fait accompli and Taylor was receding into the background, even though he remained a regular presence at Wolves home games. Taylor, who is also the majority owner of the Minnesota Lynx, had reportedly prepared for this eventuality, perhaps skeptical of the group’s ability to raise the needed funds. Previous media reports indicated a failure of the Lore group to perform would not require Taylor to repurchase their shares and they would remain as minority owners.