The identities of four bidders for the Boston Celtics emerged on Wednesday. The Friedkin Group, Phillies minority owner Stan Middleman, STG Group managing partner William Chisholm are involved in the bidding along with current Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca, according a report from Sportico.
The next round of bids is due at the end of this week after a first round occurred in January.
Bloomberg was first to report on Chisholm’s involvement with a bid Wednesday. He is the managing partner and Chief Investment Officer at Symphony Technology Group, a private equity firm based in California, which he co-founded in 2002.
Pagliuca previously announced his interest in a purchase last summer. In addition to being a co-owner on the Celtics, Pagliuca also holds an ownership stake in Atalanta, an Italian soccer team.
The Friedkin Group, based in Texas, has a hand in automotive, entertainment, hospitality and in sports as part of its overall portfolio. Per Forbes, the owner and CEO Dan Friedkin is worth around $7.5 billion. The sports portfolio includes Italian soccer club AS Roma and the English Premier League’s Everton, which it acquired in December 2024. So there’s already interest on the sports side.
Middleman is the CEO and president of Freedom Mortgage as his interest in American sports is evident. He’s a current minority owner of the MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies, buying a stake in them in 2023. He was previously interested in ownership stakes with the Guardians and Nationals before landing with the Phillies.
The Grousbeck family announced their intention to sell the team last July in a two-part process. The initial stage of the sale (51%) is set to be completed during 2025. The remaining portion of the sale would be done in 2028.
Team governor Wyc Grousbeck has also announced he intends to remain in his role until the entire sale closes in 2028. The Grousbeck-led ownership group originally purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002.
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