The ongoing saga of Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore looking to take over ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx organizations from long-time owner Glen Taylor has been hit with another curveball. With the two sides at a standstill and heading towards legal arbitration, Rodriguez and Lore have brought in former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to join their ownership group, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski.
Bloomberg, who has a background in finance and investing, has an estimated net worth of $106 billion. Forbes has him ranked as the 12th-richest person in the world, which would make him the second-richest person involved with NBA ownership behind Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is valued at $121 billion.
With Bloomberg's backing, the new ownership group should be able to land controlling interest from Taylor. That is, depending on what happens with arbitration.
The battle for Timberwolves ownership
Although Rodriguez and Lore have purchased just about 40 percent of the Timberwolves and Lynx as part of their initial agreement with Taylor, there has been a holdup with the final payment that would've allowed the new ownership group to take over majority control. As part of their multi-step process, the new ownership group was set to purchase ownership of the two franchises in increments that would total about $1.5 billion.
After submitting the paperwork to acquire another 40 percent from Taylor, the long-time owner stopped the process and declined to sell his chunk of equity to Rodriguez and Lore, citing that the option for the new owners to acquire controlling interest in the Timberwolves and Lynx has expired.
“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” Taylor said in a press release on March 28. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Since this announcement, Rodriguez and Lore have been fighting for their rights to purchase the final ownership from Taylor per their initial agreement. Whereas Taylor says they missed multiple deadlines and did not come up with the funds to buy his chunk of ownership, Rodriguez and Lore have refuted these statements. As The Athletic reports, the two businessmen submitted commitment letters for the $600 million needed to get them to 80 percent equity ahead of the March 27 deadline. This would have made them eligible for a 90-day extension through the NBA’s approval process.
Mediation did not solve the issue between the two parties, which is why they will now move on to arbitration, which may not result in a swift resolution.
The 2023-24 season proved to be historic for the Timberwolves. A 56-26 record was the best this organization has seen since the 2003-04 season, and the Timberwolves made just their second-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals. Heading into the offseason, the Timberwolves own one of the league's largest payrolls, making them a second-apron tax team with the contracts of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert surpassing $135 million in value during the 2024-25 season.
Bloomberg now joins the new ownership group of Rodriguez and Lore, and he is willing to front $300 million to dethrone Taylor. Rodriguez and Lore are responsible for the other $300 million needed for the final $600 million chunk of equity.
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