It’s official.
Former Walmart executive and e-commerce entrepreneur Marc Lore and retired MLB star Alex Rodriguez are taking controlling ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.
The NBA announced Tuesday that the league’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the sale of the NBA and WNBA franchises from Glen Taylor to Lore and Rodriguez. Approval by 23 of the NBA’s 30 owners was required for the deal to pass.
Advertisement
Approval of the sale follows news in April that the two sides had settled a dispute over the transaction, which was initially agreed upon in 2021. Lore will act as Timberwolves governor, and Rodriguez will be the team’s alternate governor. Rodriguez will serve as governor of the Lynx.
Messy ownership transition finally settled
Lore and Rodriguez previously owned a 40% stake in the franchise, per the deal that was struck in April 2021 and placed a $1.5 billion valuation on the franchises. The deal initially called for transfer of controlling ownership to Lore and Rodriguez within two-and-a-half years, a timeframe that would have concluded in October 2023.
In March 2024, Taylor declared that the sale would not go through and that Lore and Rodriguez had failed to meet agreed upon deadlines.
“I don’t need the money, so I think I’ll just keep running it and enjoy it,” Taylor said at the time. “I like my coach. I like my staff. This way everybody gets to keep their jobs, and I’ll be happy.”
Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore will take controlling ownership of the Timberwolves this week. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
(C. Morgan Engel via Getty Images)
Lore and Rodriguez countered with a statement that “we have fulfilled our obligations” and called Taylor’s statement “an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse.”
Advertisement
At the time, the Timberwolves were in the midst of a 56-26 season sparked by rising star Anthony Edwards that resulted in a trip to the Western Conference finals. Later in 2024, Forbes estimated the Timberwolves to be valued at $3.1 billion, more than twice the agreed-upon valuation from 2021.
Since then, valuations of the league’s top teams have skyrocketed, with the Boston Celtics selling for $6.1 billion in May and the Los Angeles Lakers selling for $10 billion just last week.
A mediation session in 2024 failed to resolve the dispute between Taylor and Lore and Rodriguez. A binding arbitration panel ruled 2-1 in February that Taylor must follow through with the sale at the agreed-upon $1.5 billion valuation.
Taylor declined to appeal the decision and agreed in April to move forward with the sale.
