Former baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez and businessman Marc Lore were late to the party and failed to meet a deadline for purchasing a majority stake in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, according to principal owner Glen Taylor, who announced Thursday morning that the franchises are “no longer are for sale.”
Rodriguez and Lore, however, disagreed with Taylor’s statement and issued one of their own, saying that they “are disappointed” (via the Star Tribune). “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,”
Rodriguez and Lore said. “Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season.”
Rodriguez and Lore agreed back in 2021 to pay Taylor $1.5 billion in increments, with the acquisition to close Wednesday. In his statement, Taylor said the option to obtain controlling interest had come and gone.
Embed from Getty Images“Under terms of the purchase agreement, the closing was required to occur within 90 days following the exercise notice issued by Lore and Rodriguez. That 90-day period expired on March 27, 2024,” Taylor said. “Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension. However, those circumstances did not occur.”
Taylor added: “I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court. The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Rodriguez and Lore own 40 percent of the teams through purchases dating to 2021. Taylor was not prepared to hand over full governing control at the time, so a deal was struck in which he would guide Rodriguez and Lore along the way gradually. The pair exercised an option to complete the deal in December, starting the 90-day clock noted by Taylor in his statement.
Since the sale process began in 2021, NBA franchise values have skyrocketed, with the Phoenix Suns selling for $4 billion, the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion and Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion.
Although the Carlyle Group reportedly pulled an investment Taylor said was worth $300 million earlier this month, Rodriguez and Lore reportedly had lined up backing from Dyal Capital Partners, another private equity firm. Financial documents were submitted to the NBA last week, according to The Athletic.
Rodriguez, the three-time American League MVP and ESPN and Fox broadcaster, and Lore, Walmart’s e-commerce chief, got into the deal a little prematurely in 2021, and the NBA fined the Timberwolves $250,000 for offseason practice outside the Minnesota area. Workouts and a team dinner reportedly took place at Rodriguez’s Miami residence.
Taylor purchased the Timberwolves three decades, in 1994 for $88 million, partly to keep them from relocating, and has owned the Lynx since 1999. Rodriguez and Lore unsuccessfully attempted to buy the New York Mets before striking their deal with Taylor.
The Timberwolves (50-22) are having their best season since 2004 when they advanced to the Western Conference Final, and is just a half game out of first place in the stacked Western Conference.
