How much has Mat Ishbia paid to become the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns?
NBA owners have approved the sale of the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Mercury to mortgage mogul Mat Ishbia, with the deal expected to close this week.
The NBA has announced that team owners have voted to approve the sale of the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury to mortgage lender Mat Ishbia. The billionaire had agreed to acquire the teams from embattled owner Robert Sarver in December of last year.
Suns and Mercury sale to Mat Ishbia approved by NBA and the transaction is expected to be closed this week. Robert Sarver era over. pic.twitter.com/Pxt3qzomzt
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 7, 2023
Four-billion dollar value
The deal, which values the teams at $4 billion, is expected to close later this week. This is nearly twice the average value of an NBA team, which has been pegged by Forbes at $2.2 billion. Server had acquired the team in 2004 for $401 million.
This is the biggest NBA team sale in the history of the league, according to Hoops Hype, although it does include the WNBA squad.
The closest price tag to the one attached to the Suns is the sale price of the Brooklyn Nets, sold for $3.3 billion to Joe Tsai, and previously purchased by Mikhail Prokhorov for $200 million.
READ ALSO:
- The best Kyrie Irving trade memes and tweets
- Does Irving make Mavs title favorites?
- Irving’s Dallas debut date
One abstention
The NBA Board of Governors, composed of team owners, approved the sale with a vote of 29-0, the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly abstaining.
Mat Ishbia's purchase of the Phoenix Suns has been approved by every NBA team except one:
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 7, 2023
The Cleveland Cavaliers, who abstained.
The Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert, is CEO of Rocket Mortgage.
Ishbia is the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage — and one of Gilbert's top business rivals. pic.twitter.com/WbzI9LjKn5
Ownership of the team had been up in the air since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Sarver for $10 million and suspended him for a year after an investigation showed that he engaged in workplace misconduct, particularly involving women. Sarver was also found to have exhibited racist behavior. After his punishment was handed out, the businessman said he was entertaining buyers for the team.