Ishbia to buy Suns, Mercury for $4bn
LOS ANGELES: American billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia has agreed to purchase the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and women’s team Phoenix Mercury for a record US$4 billion, the two parties confirmed on Tuesday.
“Mat is the right leader to build on franchise legacies of winning and community support and shepherd the Suns and Mercury into the next era,” current owner Robert Sarver said in the joint statement.
The deal, which will see Ishbia and his brother Justin take majority ownership, requires league approval to be fully completed.
“This is a dream come true for my entire family including my parents, my three children, and my brother Justin, who will be making a significant investment with me and bring his incredible business acumen and shared passion for basketball,” said Ishbia, who won the national championship as a student playing for Michigan State University in 2000.
Sarver earlier said he would sell the team after being banned by the NBA for a year and fined $10 million for racist and misogynist remarks and workplace bullying.
The $4 billion deal escalates the values for NBA clubs, which leaped with sales of the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion in 2014, the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017 and the Brooklyn
Nets for $2.35 billion in 2019.
Two months ago, Forbes magazine rated the Suns’ value at $2.7 billion, 13th overall among the NBA’s 30 clubs.
Reigning champions Golden State led that list at $7 billion.
Suns fans have longed for an NBA crown in vain since the franchise debuted in the 1968-69 campaign.
The Suns reached the 1976 NBA Finals but lost to Boston, fell to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals and were beaten by the Milwaukee Bucks in last year’s NBA Finals.
The Suns, who feature Chris Paul and Devin Booker, lost 113-110 to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.