In their quest for majority ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, former All-Star infielder Alex Rodriguez and his business partner Marc Lore have reportedly secured financial backing to complete the transaction.
Dyal Capital Partners has joined as a pre-approved investor in the Lore-Rodriguez group, giving them the financial means to close the sale from current owner Glen Taylor, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
Taylor, who has owned Timberwolves since 1994 and the Lynx since ’99, stated Tuesday that the Carlyle Group—a Washington D.C.-based private equity firm—backed out of its agreement to help fund Rodriguez and Lore’s bid.
“They had an equity group that was going to come in and put in $300 million, and that equity group has either withdrawn or the NBA has denied them,” Taylor told Minnesota-based reporter David Shama. “They have to go out and find new revenue. That I do know. I don’t know if they found it or what they’re going to do. We haven’t seen the schedule of ownership yet.”
It appears Rodriguez and Lore have found the necessary funding. The two businessmen have just one more payment remaining to take majority ownership, estimated by Taylor to be about $600 million.
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The deadline for Rodriguez and Lore to make that payment is March 27. In a Tuesday afternoon Sportico report, the NBA denied that it had blocked The Carlyle Group’s involvement.
Rodriguez and Lore have owned a piece of the Timberwolves and Lynx franchises since agreeing to a multi-phase payment plan with Taylor in 2021.
