Yahoo Sports Timberwolves, Lynx 'no longer for sale' as deal with Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore falls through
A-Rod and Lore will remain 40% owners of both franchises
Glen Taylor will remain as the controlling owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx after former MLB player Alex Rodriguez and entrepreneur Marc Lore missed a deadline to buy a controlling interest.
Lore and Rodriguez, who currently own 40%, sought to acquire an additional 40% ($600 million) to take over the majority share, but did not meet a Wednesday deadline per an agreement with Taylor.
Under certain circumstances, the buyer could have been entitled to a limited extension. However, those circumstances did not occur.
“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,” said Taylor in a statement. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
In a subsequent statement to the Associated Press, Taylor presented the about-face as a plus, saying “I don’t need the money, so I think I’ll just keep running it and enjoy it."
Lore and Rodriguez, however, apparently didn't enjoy the turn of events, as they claimed to the AP they did have the funding and that Taylor simply got cold feet:
“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,” the partners 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 an historic winning season.”
In 2021, Lore and Rodriguez agreed to purchase the franchises for $1.5 billion. They had 90 days to complete the final step of the sale after informing Taylor in December 2023 of their intent to acquire an additional 40% to increase their stake to 80% and take over as controlling owners.
The terms of the 2021 deal had Lore and Rodriguez purchase a 20% stake with three more future options: one for another 20%, and then a 40% stake that would turn over control before closing a deal on the final 20%. Each option would have to be exercised by the end of the calendar year and close within 60-90 days.
Last week, Lore and Rodriguez partnered with Dyal Capital to finance the stake increase from 40% to 80%. That came after the Carlyle Group backed out of its $300 million investment after being unable to reach an agreement with the NBA.
