Today 17:04
Michael Jordan will sell one majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets of the nba a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall for $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sale ends Jordan’s 13 years as majority owner of the team, which he bought in 2010 for $275 million. The basketball legend will retain a minority stake in the Hornets following the deal, according to a statement Friday.
The deal follows an outstanding 2022 sales of sports equipment and claims the NBA’s status among the most profitable leagues in the world. In recent years, the value of its franchises has skyrocketed, as some of the world’s richest people have used their vast fortunes to become team owners. Billionaire Mat Ishbia secured last year to buy more than 50% of the Phoenix Suns in an NBA record deal that valued the team at $4 billion.
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Plotkin, whose hedge fund Melvin Capital Management imploded in the wake of the Reddit-fueled GameStop trading frenzy in 2021, he’s been a minority owner of the Hornets since 2019. He was a protégé of another hedge fund titan who took over a sports team: Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets.
Before his firm imploded, Plotkin was one of the highest paid hedge fund managers. He earned $846 million in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Schnall -of the private equity firm clayton dubilier and rice– He is in the process of selling his minority stake in the Atlanta Hawks. Other investors in the Hornets include Dan Sundheim, founder of hedge fund D1 Capital Partners, and Chris Shumway, who turned his investment firm into a family office in 2011.
Minority investors in the buying group include J. Cole, a rapper from North Carolina, and Eric Church, a country singer. ESPN informed before the sale.
What Michael Jordan’s decision means for the NBA
The sale of Jordan means that the NBA no longer has a majority black team owner. He oversaw the rebranding of the Charlotte basketball team from the Bobcats to the Hornets, and took steps to keep the team in the city.
In 2022, Charlotte extended the Hornets’ lease through 2045 and city officials agree to a $275 million deal to renovate the uptown stadium and help build a new training facility. However, the team hasn’t had much success on the basketball court under Jordan, making the playoffs just three times in 13 seasons and failing to win a playoff series.
Estee Portnoy, an executive at Jordan’s family office, declined to comment.
Other leagues have also seen a barrage of deals. A group led by Rob Walton bought the NFL’s Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion in June 2022, the highest amount ever paid by an American professional sports team. Todd Boehly led a consortium that bought English Premier League club Chelsea FC for more than $5 billion.
LM
