by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore will finally take over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Arbitrators have ruled in favor of Rodriguez and tradition about the current owner Glen Taylor in their long, tumultuous fight on the future of that franchise and the Wnba’s Minnesota Lynx on Monday, the two men announced.
The two become the owners of the team after the approval of the NBAs Board of Governors. It is unclear when Rodriguez and Lore will officially take the controlling ownership of the franchises.
“We are very satisfied with today’s decision,” the two men said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the NBA to complete the approval process and close this transaction, so that we can focus our attention on winning championships in Minnesota for our incredible fans and the Twin Cities community.”
Rodriguez and Lore agreed to buy Taylor’s Timberwolves and Lynx for $ 1.5 billion in 2021. They initially bought a 20% interest and then had three future options that would control them full control over the teams in the following years have given. They reached 40% ownership and were then set up to jump up to 80% last year before Taylor suddenly announced that the team was no longer for sale and that he would continue to control the interest of the franchises.
Taylor claimed that Rodriguez and Lore missed a deadline, allowing him to withdraw. Rodriguez and Lore described that announcement as a “nuclear bomb” that completely surprised them. They said they felt that Taylor wanted to withdraw because the team has improved in recent years, and because the Phoenix Suns were sold around $ 4 billion a year a year after their deal.
“It’s just bad faith that you have a deal and a contract, and then because you can get more money, you just decide that I don’t want the contract anymore,” Lore said last year, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “That’s just bad faith. It’s not a good person, a good partner, a good person. You just don’t do that. It’s a kind of honor. It’s a bit a bit. You have closed a deal and then before you have it Because you have integrity. “
The two parties have since been in arbitration.
Taylor bought the Timberwolves for the first time for $ 94 million in 1994 and bought the Lynx five years later.
“Becky and I were disappointed about this 2-1 decision of the panel,” Taylor said in a statement. “We will thoroughly assess the decision before we make further comments. We want to express our genuine appreciation for Timberwolves and Lynx players, employees and loyal fans for their support.”
Now that arbiters have ruled Lore and Rodriguez, Taylor is contractually obliged to sell them the controlling share of the teams with the initial appreciation of $ 1.5 billion. As soon as Lore and Rodriguez receive at least 23 of the approval from the 30 owners, they receive a controlling property from the franchise. It is unclear whether Lore and Rodriguez will try to fully buy Taylor and his partners.
The Timberwolves were appreciated by Forbes last fall at $ 3.1 billion. Although that has risen by 24% on an annual basis, they are the two-last valuable team in the competition. Only the New Orleans -Pelikans and Memphis Grizzlies are worth less.
The Timberwolves currently have a record of 30-23 this season on the way to the match of Monday evening against the Cleveland Cavaliers. De Lynx, which reached the WNBA final last season, have the number 11 general choice in the design later this spring.
