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Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are taking the next step in the process of becoming majority owners of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.
The pair have exercised their option to purchase the next 20% of the teams, according to The Athletic. They entered an agreement to buy the teams in May 2021 for $1.5 billion, starting with a 20% installment.
- Lore and Rodriguez’s reported deadline to inform current majority owner Glen Taylor — who purchased the team for $88 million in 1994 — was Saturday.
- They reportedly have until March 15 to close the transaction.
The next installment for Lore and Rodriguez would be another 40% of the teams, an option that can be exercised until Dec. 31, 2023.
Forbes last valued the Timberwolves at $1.67 billion.
Splitting for Seattle?
Meyer Orbach, who owns 17% of the teams, sued Taylor for $300 million shortly after the deal over a potential move — it was reported that Lore and Rodriguez were interested in moving the Timberwolves to Seattle.
Taylor has expressed confidence that the teams will stay in Minnesota, but there is no legal language in the existing agreement guaranteeing it. Breaking the team’s lease at Target Center, which ends in 2035, would cost $50 million.
A federal judge dismissed Orbach’s claims in July 2021.
