{"id":89961,"date":"2025-08-23T12:19:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T12:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/89961\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T12:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T12:19:09","slug":"how-and-when-the-sale-of-the-portland-trail-blazers-might-come-together-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/89961\/","title":{"rendered":"How and when the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers might come together: What we know"},"content":{"rendered":"

A week after news broke of a tentative deal to sell the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, fans are still waiting for answers.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll probably need to keep waiting. <\/p>\n

The would-be buyers aren\u2019t talking publicly. Texas business executive Tom Dundon, who owns the NHL\u2019s Carolina Hurricanes, leads the group that\u2019s angling for the team. Other known investors in Dundon\u2019s group include Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital, and Sheel Tyle, Portland-based CEO of Collective Global Management. <\/p>\n

All have declined to comment, citing NBA restrictions.<\/p>\n

The seller is the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who died in 2018<\/a>. The public face of the estate, Allen\u2019s younger sister Jody, has said little. <\/p>\n

The agreed-upon purchase price is $4.25 billion, according to a source who has knowledge of the deal but is not authorized to discuss it publicly. How the buyers group plans to assemble that mountain of cash remains a mystery.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know. <\/p>\n

Do the buyers have the money?<\/p>\n

The source said financing isn\u2019t a hurdle \u2014 if it were just a matter of cash, the source said, the sale could close tomorrow. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s backed up by the financial savvy at the disposal of the Paul Allen estate, which owns the team and surely has closely scrutinized the bidders\u2019 assets before making a tentative sale agreement. <\/p>\n

Under NBA rules, the controlling owner of a team must hold at least 15%. That means Dundon needs to come up with around $640 million.<\/p>\n

Dundon agreed during a court case this year that his net worth is $2 billion. Much of that could be attributed to his ownership of the Hurricanes, which Forbes valued<\/a> at $1.25 billion. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Dundon declined to make him available for an interview, saying league regulations prohibit him from commenting on the potential sale. The spokesperson also did not answer a written question about Dundon\u2019s net worth.<\/p>\n

Finances aside, Dundon\u2019s sports background could help him sell the deal to the NBA team owners who will ultimately decide whether to approve it.<\/p>\n

A source acquainted with Dundon described him as \u201ca great operator as a majority investor\u201d who has \u201cbuilt a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes have improved on the ice and at the box office<\/a> in his seven years as owner, although his ownership of the Alliance of American Football ended in a messy, ongoing bankruptcy<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been there. He\u2019s done things,\u201d said Bill Sutton, a retired NBA executive and consultant. \u201cPeople have a comfort level with him because of his performance.\u201d <\/p>\n

What do two major shareholders in Carvana have to do with this? <\/p>\n

Maybe a lot \u2014 maybe nothing at all.<\/p>\n

Sportswriter John Canzano, a former columnist for The Oregonian\/OregonLive, reported Tuesday<\/a> on the possibility Arizona car magnate Ernest Garcia II, or his son, Ernest Garcia III, or both, are helping fund the deal. <\/p>\n

Almost as soon as Dundon\u2019s bid was first reported, speculation to that effect was passed among multiple high-level local observers. One source told The Oregonian\/OregonLive that they believed Garcia III was a \u201csignificant player\u201d in the group. <\/p>\n

The Oregonian\/OregonLive was unable to confirm those claims. The source familiar with the deal said the Garcias are not involved. <\/p>\n

Dundon\u2019s group declined to comment, as did the Allen estate \u2014 both in keeping with their responses to other questions.<\/p>\n

Garcia II has a net worth of $21.7 billion, according to Forbes<\/a>. He\u2019s the biggest shareholder in Carvana, which was founded by his son. Garcia III, Carvana\u2019s CEO, is worth $10.3 billion, according to Forbes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Efforts to reach the Garcia family through associated phone numbers were unsuccessful. Messages to Carvana were not returned.<\/p>\n

Will private equity get a piece?<\/p>\n

Private equity firms could be part-owners of the Blazers, but there are limits. <\/p>\n

In recent years, private equity firms ramped up their investments in professional sports teams, but the NBA caps individual firms at 20% of a team<\/a>, and no more than the controlling owner. Combined, so-called institutional investors, including private equity firms, can own up to 30% of a team. <\/p>\n

Zahr\u2019s Blue Owl is one of the private equity firms allowed to invest in NBA teams. It has stakes in the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves, said Lauren Anderson, director of the Warsaw Sports Business Center at the University of Oregon\u2019s Lundquist College of Business.<\/p>\n

Blue Owl could invest in the Blazers, but Zahr is participating in the deal as an individual investor, according to multiple sources, including one with direct knowledge of the deal. <\/p>\n

If Dundon\u2019s group wants to bring in private equity, it won\u2019t have trouble finding it, said multiple sports business experts. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese teams can now bring in so much money from the outside in venture capital,\u201d said Jim Kahler, director of the Sport and Entertainment Management program at Cleveland State University. \u201cIt\u2019s not too hard to find minority investors for professional sports teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does Dundon need to own the biggest slice of the team? <\/p>\n

Dundon is expected to become the largest shareholder and the controlling owner, according to the source with knowledge of the deal.<\/p>\n

But controlling owners, or \u201cgovernors\u201d in NBA parlance, don\u2019t have to own the biggest stake, they just need the authority to make business and basketball decisions. <\/p>\n

Zahr and Tyle are expected to become the team\u2019s alternate governors, according to the person close to the deal.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon in professional sports for the controlling owner to have a minority stake, said Andy Campion, who owns minority \u2014 but not controlling \u2014 stakes in the Utah Royals and Real Salt Lake professional soccer teams.<\/p>\n

Campion, who previously served<\/a> as Nike\u2019s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, is director of the Sports Leadership and Management program at the University of California, Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

He said the deals for sports teams are increasing in financial complexity and less reliant on a single deep-pocketed investor. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe new generation of owners in sports often come from a financial background and are increasingly leveraging other capital to consummate these deals,\u201d Campion said. \u201cThe league\u2019s approval process is designed to ensure that the financial structure does not put the franchise at too much risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or as another industry source put it, owners who are not cash rich try \u201cto syndicate the hell out of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about local investors? <\/p>\n

Dundon\u2019s group reached out to local investors. <\/p>\n

But the goal behind that effort seems to be less to close a funding gap and more to build a roster of allies who will support a bid for a new Portland arena, or significant renovations to the Moda Center, and public dollars to support either project.<\/p>\n

Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle confirmed last week he was one of the people approached, saying he\u2019s interested in purchasing a \u201ctiny speck\u201d<\/a> of the team in hopes of keeping it in Portland.<\/p>\n

The NBA allows for up to 25 participants, or investors, in a deal. Each must own at least 0.5% of the team, which means each would need to come up with more than $20 million. <\/p>\n

Each investor is counted individually; pooled investments generally aren\u2019t allowed. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s the timeline for closing the deal? <\/p>\n

Dundon\u2019s group has an exclusivity agreement with the Allen estate, according to the source close to the deal, which The Athletic also reported on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

That means the Allen estate isn\u2019t talking with other bidders. Dundon\u2019s group hopes to finalize a formal purchase agreement by September. <\/p>\n

Once there\u2019s a signed deal, it will go to the NBA, which will conduct its own due diligence, including background checks and financial checks. <\/p>\n

A committee of team owners will then review the deal and recommend to the full group of owners whether to approve it. The league\u2019s 30 owners will then vote. It needs to be approved by 75% of owners to pass. <\/p>\n

The process will take several months. The Celtics were put up for sale last summer. A deal was announced in March<\/a>. The NBA approved the sale<\/a> last week. It closed this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dundon\u2019s group hopes to close the deal by March 31, 2026, according to the source close to the deal.<\/p>\n

Could the deal fall apart?<\/p>\n

Of course. It\u2019s a tentative deal. But as this point, the parties know each other and are likely motivated to get it done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been so much vetting,\u201d said the University of Oregon\u2019s Anderson.<\/p>\n

If the deal hits turbulence, it\u2019s more likely it\u2019ll just take longer to close, she said, likening it to what happened with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, which took more than four years to get across the finish line. The teams ultimately ended up in the hands of an ownership group that includes former baseball superstar Alex Rodriquez, which started out as the most likely buyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey started with A-Rod, and they ended with him,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n

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