Suns owner Mat Ishbia is “in ‘zero’ danger” of having to sell the team in the coming months despite his company’s recent $452M quarterly loss. Mark J Rebilas/USA TODAY NETWORK
Suns owner Mat Ishbia is “in ‘zero’ danger” of having to sell the team in the coming months despite his company’s recent $452M quarterly loss, according to sources cited by the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. A source said that Ishbia is “in the process of buying out” longtime Suns and Mercury minority owners Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg and bringing his family’s total ownership to “essentially 99%.” Companies owned by Seldin and Kohlberg now “own approximately 14% of the teams, but a legal fight between them appears to be on a path toward settlement.” Ishbia’s UWM Holdings Corp. recently announced a $2.05B capital partnership with Oaktree Capital Management. UWM spokesperson Nicole Roberts said that the proceeds will be “used to repay existing debt.” Roberts in a statement said, “Trying to use this deal to suggest Mat’s financial situation with UWM or the Phoenix Suns is threatened is clearly ignoring the facts” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/21).