Marc Lasry is selling his stake in the Milwaukee Bucks to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, a source confirmed to Front Office Sports.
Pending league approval, the stake sale would put the 2021 NBA champions at a $3.5 billion valuation — the third-highest for a U.S. pro sports team and the second-highest for an NBA team.
The valuation trails only the Phoenix Suns in the NBA, which Mat Ishbia purchased from Robert Server earlier this month at a $4 billion valuation. Lasry reportedly previously considered selling his stake to Ishbia before the latter purchased the Suns in December 2022.
The Bucks were last valued at $2.3 billion by Forbes, making it the 15th-most-valuable NBA franchise.
Lasry and Wes Edens bought the team for roughly $550 million in 2014 from former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl and then led the building of the $524 million Fiserv Forum and the surrounding Deer District.
Lasry, who is also an investor in Major League Pickleball, reportedly plans to keep downtown Milwaukee real estate holdings and, within his investment firm Avenue Capital, is in discussions to create a sports investment fund.
Jimmy Haslam purchased the Browns in 2012 for a reported price of $1 billion. The Haslams also own Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew.