Marc Lasry, co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has reached a deal to sell his share to Jimmy and Dee Haslam.
This article will be updated.
Marc Lasry, a co-owner of the N.B.A.’s Milwaukee Bucks, has reached an agreement to sell his share of the team to Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who own the N.F.L.’s Cleveland Browns, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The transaction values the Bucks at $3.5 billion. A spokesman for the Browns declined to comment.
Lasry purchased the team in 2014 for $550 million along with Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan, with each purchasing an equal share of the organization.
Lasry is currently the team’s governor, which is the top decision-making position within an N.B.A. organization. He and Edens alternate in the role, and the Haslams will have the same arrangement within the ownership group, the person familiar with the deal said.
Before the sale becomes official, the N.B.A. will complete a background check on the Haslams. Then, the league’s board of governors will vote on whether to approve the sale. Once the league has approved a buyer, the board’s vote is considered a formality.
The agreement between Lasry and the Haslams comes two months after Mat Ishbia reached an agreement to purchase a majority share of the Phoenix Suns. Ishbia purchased 57 percent of the Suns, which were valued at $4 billion as part of that deal.
He was approved by the Board of Governors with 29-to-0 vote. The Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, Isbhia’s rival in the mortgage business, abstained.
Jenny Vrentas contributed reporting.
Source: Basketball - nytimes.com
