After numerous delays and setbacks, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have officially completed their purchase of the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor. After a few disappointing seasons, this stunning acquisition is a huge turn of fortune for the team. This signing comes after six weeks of heated negotiation. Prior to that, the coalition won a second major victory in a 2-1 split decision in the group’s arbitration process with the same three judge panel.
In 2021, Lore and Rodriguez made a deal to purchase the Timberwolves from Taylor. The deal was one of the biggest ever, an astounding $1.5 billion. The deal was set up as a three-part deal. Those challenges became real when Taylor suddenly canceled the sale in March 2024. He alleged that Lore and Rodriguez breached their contract and missed a deadline to complete the transaction.
Even with these unfortunate losses, the Lore-Rodriguez team bounced back, strengthening their hand through recruitment of highly-influential partners to their collective. Recent additions have been billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Google executive Eric Schmidt. They further bolstered their bid by teaming up with Blue Owl Capital—an NBA-approved private equity fund.
In response to Taylor’s concerns, further negotiations between the parties ensued and, soon afterwards, a settlement was reached. The purchase agreement will enable this Lore-Rodriguez collective to purchase both the Timberwolves, as well as the Minnesota Lynx. In 1994, Taylor bought the Timberwolves for $94 million. The most profound, perhaps, was during his time the franchise was on the brink of moving to New Orleans, and he helped save it from that fate.
That arbitration decision became decisive, allowing Lore and Rodriguez to move forward with the purchase unencumbered. The three judge panel issued a split ruling. This result underscored the complicated ownership transitions that can come with professional sports franchises, especially when large dollar amounts are involved.
Fortunately, the Lore-Rodriguez coalition has come to an accord. Now, they can proceed without fear with their exciting plans for the team and its future outreach. As they continue to foster their collective passion for storytelling, they probably have each others’ backs.
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