Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Marc Lore selling his controlling stake
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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Marc Lore has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the franchises to limited partner Marc Stad at a $4.5 billion value barely a year after his purchase was finalized, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke Friday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the agreement — the second sale in the NBA this month — were not being publicized.
The Lakers were flipped by Mark Walter to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation in a deal struck last week.
Lore, a New York e-commerce entrepreneur, and partner Alex Rodriguez, the former Major League Baseball star, bought the NBA and WNBA clubs from Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor. That complicated and contentious process lasted more than four years until the $1.5 billion sale got league approval in June 2025.
Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger were eyeing an NBA expansion team bid in Las Vegas but pivoted to buying the Lakers from Mark Walter, who bought a controlling interest in the team last year.
Lore will retain a limited share and essentially swap roles with Stad, who is the founder of Dragoneer Investment group, a California-based firm focused on technology companies. Rodriguez will remain as a co-owner and continue as the most publicly visible owner of the pro basketball franchises.
Lore’s decision to sell his majority stake stems from his focus on his food delivery startup Wonder, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity to the AP because those details were not being made public. Lore has started the process of taking Wonder public.
Lore, Rodriguez and Stad issued a joint statement Friday expressing their commitment to the current leadership in the organization including chief executive officer Matt Caldwell, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, and Lynx president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve.
“We have been working together for years with a shared goal of building the Timberwolves and Lynx into the best organization in basketball on and off the floor. Our priority is and always will be championships,” the owners said. “Our new agreement, pending league approval, is an evolution of the partnership we have built together and strengthening of our commitment to our team and our culture.”
The two teams currently play at Target Center, which opened in 1990 for the second season of the Timberwolves after they were granted an expansion franchise. Lore and Rodriguez have previously pledged a desire to keeping the teams in downtown Minneapolis, eventually in a new arena.
The Lynx were added to the WNBA as an expansion club in 1999 and have won four championships, with a healthy lead on the rest of the league this season behind star Napheesa Collier and rookie Olivia Miles.
The Timberwolves have never won a title or reached the NBA Finals, with an eight-year run of making the playoffs behind star forward Kevin Garnett their only period of sustained success until recently.
The booming business of sports has attracted a flood of private equity investment and even the most notable franchises require the influx of cash to keep up in the arms race.
Since drafting Anthony Edwards with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, hiring Finch in 2021 and Connelly in 2022, the Timberwolves have grown into one of the league’s best teams. They reached the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025 and were ousted in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs last season. They acquired point guard LaMelo Ball in one of the NBA’s biggest summer trades.
Campbell writes for the Associated Press.
