Per Shooter:
It still looks like the $1.5 billion sale of the Timberwolves and Lynx will happen. But up until at least last week, there was an awkward silence on behalf of the buyers.
The initial deadline for the sale to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore was Dec. 31. Another deadline granted by owner Glen Taylor had been pushed back until this Thursday, presumably for Rodriguez and Lore to acquire more capital.
Don’t be surprised if yet another deadline is granted beyond Thursday.
Word is the buyers still need $600 million to close the deal. For a transaction of this magnitude, a lack of correspondence between the buyers and seller has been puzzling.
Taylor hadn’t heard from the buyers in at least a month, but he has remained patient. At age 82 he’s already a double-billionaire and hardly in need of cash.
— Rodriguez and Lore are in the process of bringing new partners into the deal, but those have been unknown, even to Taylor, who if he’s to become a 20 percent partner, as initially was planned, would like to know the conditions. Taylor’s group on Jan. 3 requested pertinent information from the buyers without response.
Taylor remains the Timberwolves-Lynx owner and oversees all transactions. It’s been under his final say and direction that the Wolves have become the Western Conference’s co-leader.
— What’s especially interesting about the sale is that although Rodriguez and Lore plan to be majority owners, they’re not expected to own more than 24 percent of the team. The NBA requires only 15 percent, which is surprising.
There’s whispering that an outside equity firm is going to invest $300 million in the deal, but it won’t have decision-making rights. It would have investment value in a league where the average team now is worth an estimated $2.7 billion. Besides the equity firm, five limited investors are expected to join for a total 10 percent.
— Of note is that if Rodriguez and Lore were to buy Taylor out entirely, there is language in the sales agreement that the deal would be worth more than the original $1.5 billion price.
It still looks like the $1.5 billion sale of the Timberwolves and Lynx will happen. But up until at least last week, there was an awkward silence on behalf of the buyers. The initial deadline for t…
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Howl Wolves!!