Former New York City mayor and billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg has joined a group of investors led by Marc Rolle and Alex Rodriguez in seeking a majority stake in the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
The addition of Bloomberg, who made his fortune co-founding his eponymous financial data company that served Wall Street professionals for decades, marks a major win for Rolle and Rodriguez, who are battling current T-Wolves majority owner Glen Taylor for control of the team.
A Lohr spokesman confirmed Bloomberg was part of the investment group.
A Bloomberg spokesman declined to comment.
The Washington Post learned from sources familiar with the matter that Bloomberg’s involvement in Roar-A-Rod’s proposed takeover of the Timberwolves dates back to late last year.
Bloomberg’s investment becoming public put pressure on Taylor, who is trying to block the sale, and sparked the perception that A-Rod and Rolle did not have enough money to build a team.
If Lore and A-Rod are successful in wresting control of the T-Wolves from Taylor, Bloomberg would gain about 10 percent ownership of the team, sources told The Post.
The arbitration tribunal is expected to decide in August or September whether A-Rod and Lohr can force the sale, sources said.
The Washington Post has reached out to the Timberwolves and Rodriguez for comment.
News of Bloomberg’s involvement The Athletic was first to report the news.
Bloomberg’s wealth, Forbes Magazine Recognizes As of Thursday, his net worth was $106.2 billion, making him the 13th richest person in the world.
Bloomberg’s addition reportedly allows Rolle and Rodriguez to move forward with the eventual $300 million investment to acquire Taylor in the short term, without having to wait until the end of next year’s basketball season.
Bloomberg will reportedly only put up a portion of the $300 million, but the bulk of the funding will come from investors Lore and A-Rod have already raised, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
The investment group led by Roa and Rodriguez currently owns about 40% of the T-Wolves and the WNBA team, the Lynx.
In April 2021, e-commerce giant Lore, whose successful startups include Diapers.com and Jet.com, partnered with former Yankees standout Rodriguez to agree to acquire Taylor and the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion.
The deal was structured so that Lohr and A-Rod would acquire shares in the team in stages over several years.
By last year, the relationship had grown to the point where A-Rod and Lohr owned 36 percent of the club’s shares.
The final part of the deal would see both companies acquire an additional 40% stake by March of this year, giving them majority control of the NBA franchise.
But Taylor, an 83-year-old businessman and former Minnesota state legislator, was reluctant to sell his 40 percent stake, claiming that Lohr and A-Rod had not provided enough money to complete the deal.
Lore and A-Rod denied the allegations and said Taylor likely had “seller’s remorse” as the T-Wolves entered the championship race, causing the valuation to skyrocket since he agreed to sell the club three years ago.
Recent reports suggest the Timberwolves’ valuation has soared to more than $3 billion.
Led by explosive superstar Anthony Edwards, the team shocked basketball audiences this year by reaching the NBA’s Western Conference Finals, only to lose to the Dallas Mavericks.
In late March, The Washington Post reported that Roa, who told the NBA he was worth about $4 billion, was unwilling to invest much of the $520 million he and Rodriguez needed to increase their stake in the team to 80 percent.
Lohr had intended to make a relatively small investment, but wanted A-Rod, who invested much less than Lohr, to match his investment pretty closely in the new funding, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Lore and A-Rod had planned to pay $600 million for an additional 40% stake but made last-minute changes to how they were financing that payment, enlisting private equity firm Dyal Capital after the Carlyle Group pulled out.
Lohr and A-Rod claim they are ready to raise capital and have enough funds to acquire the remaining 40% stake, which would buy out Taylor’s limited partner and leave him with 20% of the club.
The initial agreement between the two parties stated that Lohr and A-Rod could acquire Taylor’s 20% stake at any time up until March next year.
Lore and A-Rod are reportedly planning to devise a strategy for running the Timberwolves in case the arbitrator rules in their favor, as they expect.
According to The Athletic, their investor group plans to spend heavily to keep the team competitive, primarily by paying the NBA luxury tax, a provision in the collective bargaining agreement that requires teams to pay extra money if their total payroll exceeds a threshold.
The Timberwolves are equipped with highly paid star players, including Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert, and their combined payroll exceeds the league’s salary cap, meaning they must pay the luxury tax.
