Michael Jordan is selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets.
Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall — linked to the franchise’s potential purchase earlier this year — reached an agreement on a deal to purchase the club Jordan has owned for 13 years on Friday.
The Hornets are valued at $1.7 billion.
The sale, expected to be finalized in days, would leave the NBA without a Black controlling owner.
The news also marks the third time in less than five weeks that Canadian businessman Steve Apostolopoulos has lost out on a pro sports team.
Apostolopoulos previously led unsuccessful bids for the Washington Commanders and Ottawa Senators. He also had an interest in acquiring the Hornets.
The last NBA franchise to hit the market — the Phoenix Suns — was sold to Mat Ishbia in a deal that valued the franchise at $4 billion last year.
Jordan paid $275 million for the Hornets in 2010 and is expected to keep a minority stake in the club.
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