Glen Taylor, the majority owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, has agreed to transfer complete ownership of both organizations to a group led by American entrepreneur Marc Lore and MLB Hall of Famer Alex Rodriguez for $1.5 billion, according to sources who spoke to ESPN.
The NBA has already begun the ownership transfer process, which will include a board of governors vote, sources told ESPN. Lore and Rodriguez are expected to be approved as the Timberwolves and Lynx’s new owners, the sources added.
Lore and Rodriguez originally agreed to purchase the Timberwolves and Lynx from Taylor four years ago in a three-part sale. The first two portions of the deal saw Rodriguez and Lore acquire a 36% stake in the franchises for $500 million. However, in March 2024, Taylor backed out on the final part of the purchase because he thought that Rodriguez and Lore had “breached terms of the sale agreement and missed a deadline to finalize the deal,” said ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst.
This led to the deal going to arbitration, which Lore and Rodriguez won in a split decision among three judges. According to sources who spoke to Shams Charania, Taylor will not appeal the arbitrators who ruled in favor of Lore and Rodriguez as part of this deal.
Glen Taylor, 83, purchased the Timberwolves for $94 million in 1994.
Now, 31 years later, Taylor agrees to sell for $1.5 billion – the original price tag from his deal with Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 2, 2025
During the delay, Rodriguez and Lore added several other prominent investors to their ownership group, including the NBA-approved private equity fund Blue Owl Capital, former Google executive Eric Schmidt, and the former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. With these new partners, Lore and Rodriguez managed to raise an additional $950 million and put that money in escrow to show that the group was ready to complete the final part of the purchase.
Glen Taylor, who turns 84 later this month, purchased the Minnesota Timberwolves for $94 million in 1994. According to ESPN, Taylor has attempted to sell the franchise numerous times over the last 20+ years.
This is the second NBA franchise that has been agreed to be sold this year. A few weeks ago, the Boston Celtics’ ownership group reportedly agreed to sell the team to Bill Chisholm, the co-founder and managing director of the Symphony Technology Group (STG), for a record $6.1 billion.
