A-Rod, Lore Miss Timberwolves Deadline as Deal Falls Apart
Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore will not be the next majority owners of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. Both teams are no longer for sale, according to current controlling owner Glen Taylor.
The two limited partners missed Wednesday’s critical deadline to make a payment to buy a controlling interest, Taylor said in a statement on Thursday. The deal valued the Timberwolves at roughly $1.5 billion. Sportico currently values the team at $2.94 billion.
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“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,” Taylor said. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Representatives for Lore and Rodriguez declined to make an immediate comment. The news comes after the incoming ownership group partnered with Dyal Capital Partners last week to try and finance an increase in their stake from 40% to 80% of the team. Lore and Rodriguez had previously been in talks with Carlyle Group on financing the transaction but the private equity giant was unable to reach an agreement with the NBA.
Under the terms of the deal, as described in a 2021 lawsuit, Rodriguez and Lore purchased 20% of the Timberwolves in July 2021. The agreement included three more future options: to buy another 20%, then a 40% chunk that would come with control of the franchise, then the final 20%. Each option needed to be exercised by the end of the calendar year, with a closing 60-90 days later.
Rodriguez and Lore bought the second 20%, and late last year exercised the option to buy the next 40%. Then their financing fell apart. Under terms of the deal, a missed deadline would terminate all future purchase options. If that holds, Rodriguez and Lore will likely remain as minority investors.
This 40% chunk would have included general-partnership interests and all of the non-Taylor LP interests, according to the lawsuit. This is the second time that Taylor, who has owned the team since 1995, has come close to selling the Timberwolves, only to retain control. In 2020, Memphis Grizzlies investor Daniel E. Straus was reportedly in advanced talks to buy the team, but they fell apart.
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