A few weeks ago, Bill Chisholm told a partner at a private equity company that he was planning to buy a basketball team. It wasn't just the basketball team. It was the Boston Celtics.
Partners at his company, Symphony Technology Group, were concerned. Where does he get the money? Certainly, do they have only $10 billion in assets, not from their small PE fund based in Menlo Park, California?
His answer was emphasized. He and his investors – a large number of rich guys and another, bigger private equity house – have put together money even if most of them aren't him. And as of last week, Chisholm is said to have convinced Symphony's skeptical partner that he could actually buy the Celtics in a record $6.1 billion deal.
But almost a week after revealing his amazing bid, he still hasn't convinced many among his trading colleagues in the sports business world, Wall Street and even Silicon Valley. Symphony is known for its mid-sized acquisitions and investments. Chisholm himself is little known in Wall Street or in the sports business.
Next, there are strict rules for purchasing teams imposed by the NBA.
The future owner – or so-called “controllers” must consider cash rather than debt. It must be 15% of the transaction price, half of that needs to be delivered immediately, and the other half is time in three years. That means Chisholm currently needs to push down at least $450 million in cash, with the rest not changing again and again for those who are not billionaires since then.
For comparison, acquisition baron Josh Harris, one of the co-founders of PE giant Apollo Management, set a previous record price to buy the NFL Washington commander for $6.05 billion. He is worth more than $10 billion.
Other persistent questions remain. Chisholm lives in California, not Boston. He's not even a season ticket holder. (Associates say he grew up in the Boston area and watches almost every game on television).
“I don't know who he is,” one NBA owner told the post. A banker who knows him from the Silicon Valley deal says, “This won't sum up.”
One of these skeptics appears to be Steve Pagliuca, a senior adviser at the giant PE company Bain Capital and owner of the team's minority (Pagliuca did not return a request for comment).
As he is known locally, “PAGS” is an active presence in the Boston sports scene. Recently he tried to throw shade at Chisholm's bid, Posted on x His own bid was “a fully guaranteed offer at a record price… there was no potential debt or private equity money to potentially hamstring the ability to compete in the future.”
It should be noted that the Celtics have one of the best payrolls in the NBA, and high debt levels from new owners can make it difficult.
Chisholm, 56, declined to comment on this. However, those who know Chisholm and Bankers, the father-son team of IRV and WYC Grousebk, the current owners, say he meets all the requirements of the league.
One associate says he is worth nearly $4 billion. This is the result of 30 years of steady transactions after leaving Dartmouth and embarking on a private equity career. He told his partner a few weeks ago that he is currently planning to come up with $500 million in cash and $500 million.
Meanwhile, the banker says his bid is a name that has won quite a lot in sports businesses, including Pagliuca.
Chisholm hired Goldman Sachs to bring together the equity team, but also worked closely with Grousbeck's scary bank ensemble. Mary Erdoes, a powerful head of JPMorgan's Wealth Management business.
“Mary never gave this a green light unless he had the money,” said the top JPMorgan executive with knowledge of the issue. A person close to Lenkaw added Chisolum: “He was a much higher bid,” adding, “Funding” – Wall Street terminology means debt to pay for a transaction.
A person close to Chisholm denied that he placed debt on the transaction, but the person also declined to comment on borrowings by other stock players. In addition to a few investors not mentioned in the contract press release, Chisholm's money includes over $1 billion in commitments from Sixth Street, PE company well known for its sports circles. Sixth Street has the biggest single investment in its team.
It's not harmful to know that a banker, a banker, represents the Gluebook and that Chisholm goes back. Both are Dartmouth alumni and play together on the school's soccer team. Those who know them say they're not the best, but they've been in touch for many years and remain friendly.
“There are many rumors about Bill's bids, but that's from a party with an agenda,” said one person close to Chisholm. “His money is real.”
