Tom Dundon’s group has a signed purchase agreement to buy the Portland Trail Blazers, the estate of former owner Paul Allen said Friday.
Sportico was first to report last month that the group, which includes Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Portland-based Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global, had a tentative deal in place to buy the franchise. The investment group also includes the Cherng Family Trust, the family office of the co-founders of the Panda Express restaurant chain, according to Friday’s statement.
The deal will include two payments, one at close and one at a later date, with a blended valuation of roughly $4.25 billion, Sportico reported at the time. More specific terms weren’t provided by the estate.
The buyers have “confirmed their intention to keep the team in Portland,” the estate said Friday. The transaction still needs NBA approval.
A $4.25 billion price would be among the highest ever paid for control of an NBA team, though nowhere near the top. The Celtics recently sold in a $6.1 billion deal, and Mark Walter recently agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers at a $10 billion valuation. Sportico values the Trail Blazers at $3.6 billion, which ranks 23rd in the 30-team NBA.
Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft, also owned the NFL‘s Seattle Seahawks. He died in 2018. His will dictated that his sports teams be sold, with the proceeds going to philanthropic efforts. The Blazers’ sale is happening before the Seahawks process.
Dundon bought the Hurricanes in 2018 for $425 million. He is also majority owner of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball. He will serve as the Trail Blazers governor, the people said.
Allen’s sister Jody is the executor of his estate and has been serving as owner of the NBA and NFL teams. Because the seller is the estate, the process likely unfolded differently than the more common private sale of a sports team from one person to another. In that scenario, the seller has much wider discretion about whom to sell to and for what price. In most estate sales, the trust has a fiduciary duty to maximize the value of its assets, which generally means the team sells to the highest qualified bidder. This was the dynamic in place for the 2023 sale of the NFL’s Denver Broncos for a then-record $4.6 billion.
Allen & Company facilitated the deal on behalf of the Trail Blazers. Hogan Lovells served as legal advisor.