Tom Dundon is one step closer to owning the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Paul Allen estate announced Friday that it has reached a formal agreement to sell the franchise to a group led by Dundon, the billionaire businessman from Texas who also owns the Carolina Hurricanes.
It’s a significant step in the process of the sale, and the first time the Allen estate has acknowledged that Dundon and his group are involved in the deal.
The sides entered an exclusive negotiating window last month, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The sale won’t become official until it is approved by the NBA’s board of governors, which could take several months.
The transaction features a valuation of $4.25 billion, a source familiar with the details of the sale told The Oregonian/OregonLive, and features a notable investor previously unreported —the Cherng Family Trust.
Andrew Cherng and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng co-founded Panda Express, and the family has a net worth of $7.5 billion, according to Forbes, which would make them the wealthiest backers of Dundon’s ownership group.
Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Collective Global CEO Sheel Tyle, who lives in the Portland area, are also involved.
The new ownership group has declared that it intends to keep the team in Portland, according to the Allen estate.
The Blazers have been owned by the Allen family since 1988, when, at 35, the Microsoft co-founder bought the franchise from Larry Weinberg (for $70 million), becoming the youngest owner of a major sports franchise. Allen died in 2018 from complications related to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, sending ownership of the franchise into a trust, which has been managed by his sister, Jody Allen, the last seven years.
For more about Dundon, the sales process timeline and what’s ahead for the franchise, check out The Oregonian/OregonLive’s recent coverage of the sale below:
• Trail Blazers find a buyer, agree to sell franchise to NHL team owner
• An open letter to Tom Dundon, who should know a few things about the Trail Blazers and Portland | Bill Oram
• How and when the sale of the Trail Blazers might come together: What we know
• Trail Blazers have dream plans for revamped Moda Center. Will a new owner use them?
• A discussion about Dundon and what will his potential Blazers’ ownership might look like
• How Dundon’s proposed ownership of the Blazers could shape the franchise’s future
• Who is Tom Dundon, the Texas businessman leading the purchase of the Blazers?
• Trail Blazers buyer seeks more local investors, and Columbia Sportswear’s Tim Boyle is interested
• Trail Blazers bidder entangled in a messy corporate bankruptcy
• Trail Blazers ownership timeline: From $3.7 million in 1970 to Dundon deal in 2025
• Estate of Paul Allen announces plans to sell Blazers
• Bill Oram: Ding dong, the Blazers are for sale! Which means... what exactly?
—Joe Freeman is a senior writer at The Oregonian/OregonLive covering the Trail Blazers and NBA. Reach him at 503-294-5183,jfreeman@oregonian.com,@BlazerFreeman or@freemanjoe.bsky.social.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.