William Chisholm is a name you might want to familiarize yourself with.
Why?
The Boston Celtics’ current ownership group agreed to sell the team to Chisholm, according to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. ESPN’s Shams Charania added that the franchise was sold for a valuation of $6.1 billion, which would make it the largest sale of a sports franchise in North America.
Who is this guy?
We don’t want to pretend like we’re close and personal friends, but some furiously paced internet research does help paint the picture of who exactly is taking over in Boston. Chisholm has some interesting history that could help answer questions that many of us have.
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Let’s discuss:
WHERE DID HE GET ALL THAT MONEY!?It’s a tacky question, but you were all thinking it!
Chisholm is in private equity, having co-founded Symphony Technology Group (STG). Bill, as he’s known on the company website, also co-founded The Valent Group and worked at Bain & Company and PaineWebber, Inc.
STG “is a private equity firm that invests in and builds leading software and software-enabled technology services companies, focusing on the mid-market and partnering with management teams to unlock growth potential and build customer-centric businesses,” according to its own website.
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HE’S A LOCAL GUYChisholm, a Dartmouth graduate, grew up in Georgetown, Mass., and is a longtime Celtics fan.
So… that’s nice.
HE ISN’T JEFF BEZOSThe Celtics sale included many potential buyers, but even those who have billions to throw around can find limits. Boston is facing a record-breaking payroll and a huge luxury-tax bill in the near future, having just committed huge money to the likes of Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown — while losing out on arena revenue due to TD Garden being owned by the Boston Bruins.
We don’t want to pocket-watch the guy, but there’s a question as to whether Chisholm will keep this roster together through the entirety of its contending window.
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The C’s have contemplated moving a couple of times, so would constructing a new arena be enough for him to consider slashing payroll to save some money? Wyc Grousbeck’s family would have had to, which is part of the reason they sold.