The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale, majority owner Glen Taylor said Thursday.
Taylor confirmed the expiration of the option of retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez and former Walmart eCommerce CEO Marc Lore to acquire controlling interest of the NBA’s Timberwolves and WNBA’s Lynx.
Rodriguez and Lore exercised their option to buy another 40 percent of the teams in December, opening a 90-day window to close the deal. That window shut on Wednesday.
“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” Taylor said in a statement. “The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Lore and Rodriguez would have taken over controlling interest in the clubs had the agreement been finalized.
They began the $1.5 billion purchase in 2021 with their investment in the first 20 percent. They added the second 20 percent in March 2023 when they made a $290 million payment.
The deal was thrown into question last week when the financial backer of Rodriguez and Lore, the Carlyle Group, couldn’t reach agreement regarding requirements for those investing in the NBA with the pair, The Athletic reported.
One day later, Rodriguez and Lore appeared to have obtained financing from another group and filed paperwork with the NBA to complete the deal. And in a statement issued Thursday, they said they were prepared to move ahead with the purchase.
“We are disappointed with Glen Taylor’s public statement today. We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process,” Rodriguez and Lore said. “Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during a historic winning season.”
The Timberwolves (50-22) are battling the Denver Nuggets (51-22) and Oklahoma City Thunder (50-22) for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Lynx open their WNBA season on May 14 against the Seattle Storm.
