A consortium led by Don Dundon, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, has tentatively agreed with Paul Allen’s estate to acquire the Trail Blazers and maintain the team’s presence in Portland. Dundon confirmed this accord via text communication with The Associated Press on Wednesday. His group comprises Sheel Tyle, based in Portland and a co-founder of investment company Collective Global, and Marc Zahr, who serves as co-president at Blue Owl Capital.
For the final purchase agreement to proceed, it needs ratification by the NBA board of governors. The reported deal amount is $4 billion USD, as per ESPN’s disclosure on Wednesday. However, Dundon did not disclose the sale terms to the AP.
Earlier this year, CNBC valued the Trail Blazers at $3.65 billion while the Boston Celtics were sold in March for $6.1 billion. Dundon, aged 53, acquired a stake in the Hurricanes in 2017 and assumed the majority ownership role in 2018. He holds the position of chairman and managing partner at Dundon Capital Partners, a Dallas-based firm.
In May, Allen’s estate announced its intent to sell the Trail Blazers. The late billionaire, a co-founder of Microsoft who passed away in 2018 at 65 due to non-Hodgkin lymphoma complications, originally purchased the Blazers for $70 million in 1988. Allen also had ownership in the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and shared ownership of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.
Following Allen’s demise, his sister Jody Allen took on the role of chair for both teams and serves as a trustee for the Paul G. Allen Trust. In his will, Paul Allen specified the eventual sale of his sports franchises, with the proceeds earmarked for charitable endeavors.
While the estate has not disclosed plans for the Seahawks or the 25% stake in the Sounders, Jody Allen reportedly turned down an over $2 billion bid from Nike co-founder Phil Knight in 2022 to purchase the Trail Blazers. At that time, she highlighted that there were no ongoing talks regarding the sale of the teams.
Established in 1970 as an expansion team, the Trail Blazers clinched their sole NBA championship in 1977. In the previous season, they concluded with a 36-46 record, missing out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
A representative from the Carolina Hurricanes expressed Dundon’s enthusiasm for acquiring the Trail Blazers, emphasizing that the move will not impact the NHL team. The Hurricanes, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, have seen playoff appearances in each of the last seven seasons.