T-Wolves Minority Shareholders Dragged Along As Sale Nears Completion

After dragging his feet on the $1.5 billion Timberwolves sale, billionaire Glen Taylor is now dragging along minority shareholders as the agreement nears completion.

Taylor, 84, is reportedly enforcing a so-called “drag-along” clause in his $1.5 billion deal to sell the Timberwolves to Alex Rodriguez and entrepreneur Marc Lore, meaning that minority shareholders in the team will be forced to divest their stakes at the same terms Taylor is selling his majority stake for.

The inclusion of a drag-along provision is not uncommon, but the complexity of the Timberwolves deal—which was agreed to in 2021 and structured as a multipart transaction—has muddied the process. According to the Pioneer Press, as the sale marches toward completion, the remaining limited partners in the Timberwolves will be compelled to sell their shares. 

The report notes that the minority shareholders are getting a strong return on investment; Taylor bought the Timberwolves in 1994 for just $88 million and sold the team for $1.5 billion. 

However, despite the significant difference in how much he paid and how much he and minority shareholders will make from the sale, the process has been anything but simple. Two weeks after the sale was announced in May 2021, Orbit Sports, owned by New Jersey real estate investor Meyer Orbach, sued to block the sale. 

The suit argued that Orbit should have been able to invoke what are known as “tag along” rights, which are meant to protect minority investors by allowing them to sell their interest in a franchise when control changes hands. The suit, which sought at least $300 million in damages, claimed Taylor needed to either offer Rodriguez and Lore Orbit’s 17% stake—the largest minority stake owned in the team—or buy it himself at that point in time. 

Because the first part of the transaction in 2021 didn’t result in control of the Timberwolves changing hands, Taylor argued the tag-along clause was not yet triggered. 

Less than two months after the suit was filed, a federal court agreed with Taylor and dismissed the case. The judge was clear in his ruling that Taylor gets to decide whether he is dragging along minority investors before minority investors can decide to tag along.

Taylor famously tried to contest his own agreement to sell the Timberwolves. In March 2024, he sought to pull the team off the market and alleged the buyers missed a payment. The situation went to mediation and then arbitration, before a ruling in February that was in favor of Rodriguez and Lore. In April, ESPN reported Taylor would not appeal that decision.

The target closing for the Timberwolves deal is before the end of this month, a source familiar with the matter tells Front Office Sports. At that point, it’s expected Rodriguez and Lore will formally acquire 100% of the Timberwolves.

The NBA declined to comment. Representatives for Orbach and the Timberwolves did not immediately respond to requests for comment.