Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon strikes tentative deal to buy Portland Trail Blazers
A group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Don Dundon has reached a tentative agreement with Paul Allen's estate to buy the Trail Blazers and keep the team in Portland.
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Dundon confirmed the agreement in a text exchange with The Associated Press on Wednesday. His group includes Portland-based Sheel Tyle, the co-founder of investment firm Collective Global, and Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital.
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The NBA Board of Governors has to ratify any final purchase agreement. ESPN reported Wednesday that the deal was for $4 billion. Dundon did not reveal the terms of the sale to the AP.
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CNBC earlier this year valued the Trail Blazers at $3.65 billion. In March, the Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion.
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Dundon, 53, bought a stake in the Hurricanes in 2017 and became the majority owner in 2018. He is chairman and managing partner of the Dallas-based firm Dundon Capital Partners.
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Allen's estate announced in May that it had begun the process of selling the Trail Blazers. The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, who died in 2018 at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, originally bought the Blazers in 1988 for $70 million.
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Allen also owned the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and was a co-owner of Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders.
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Since his death, Allen's sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair of both the Blazers and Seahawks and is a trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust. Paul Allen stipulated in his will the eventual sale of his teams, with the proceeds given to philanthropic endeavors.
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Representatives for the estate did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment on the agreement.
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The estate has not announced plans for the sale of the Seahawks or the 25% stake in the Sounders.
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Jody Allen reportedly rebuffed an offer from Nike co-founder Phil Knight to buy the Trail Blazers for more than $2 billion in 2022. At that time, there were no ongoing discussions about the sale of the teams, she said in a rare statement.
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The Trail Blazers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970 and won their lone NBA championship in 1977.
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Last season, the Blazers finished 36-46 and missed out on the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
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A spokesperson for the Carolina Hurricanes said Dundon was 'excited about the opportunity' to buy the Trail Blazers, and added that the move will not affect the NHL team.
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