Two of the Memphis Grizzlies minority owners will have the chance to purchase the team from controlling owner Robert Pera, according to Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
By a strange provision, Steven Kaplan and Daniel Straus each have the option to make big during the five-year anniversary of Pera's $377 million purchase of the Grizzlies. Either or both of the minority owners are expected to initiate this process within a 60-day window, according to sources.
Both Kaplan and Straus can name a price for the team; Pera would have to either buy one or both of his partners' shares, depending on who is the one bidding — or sell his own shares to them at that value at one point during the 60-day window.
This could take many months to play out and could turn out to be a deadlock, or it can also turn into a closely-observed battle to seize control of the franchise. Both minority owners can also let the window go by and keep Pera as the controlling owner of the team, though they won't have another chance at purchasing the team again until 2020.
Former NBA commissioner David Stern suggested this buy/sell provision when the partnership to buy the team was formed, according to Lowe/Windhorst. When Pera first became the controlling owner in 2012, Kaplan and Straus each controlled about 14 percent of the Grizzlies, while Pera controlled roughly 26 percent of the franchise.
Follow Us
Subscribe