The price to acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves is rising

The Minnesota Timberwolves are still for sale, but the price to acquire the franchise is continuing to rise.

Long-time Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has reportedly had the franchise on the market for months. Apparently, the value of the franchise is continuing to rise.

According to recent reports, the franchise is now worth a few hundred million more than the Forbes valuation that was published earlier this year.

The value of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise is continuing to rise

A recent report from Forbes states that the Timberwolves are not only worth more than we thought, but that Taylor has actually turned down at least one offer.

From Forbes’ Mike Ozanian:

"The sale price has been climbing because of significant interest from various buyers. According to my sources, who would not reveal the names of the bidders, Taylor has already turned down an offer of $1.45 billion for the Timberwolves. One of the sports bankers told me he expects the team to sell for about $1.5 billion—also about 6.4 times normalized revenue."

Earlier in the week, we explored whether or not the pending sale of the Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion would impact the value of the Timberwolves. It was fair to assume that it wouldn’t, especially considering that the Jazz deal includes the G League team, a Triple-A baseball team, and the arena in which the Jazz play.

Additionally, the Salt Lake City market and the Twin Cities market are much different in terms of sports landscape, and the businessman who purchased the Jazz is a native Utahan with a vested interest in keeping the team in his home state.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Minnesota Timberwolves value was declining

It was only a week ago that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst appeared on Darren Wolfson’s “The Scoop With Doogie” podcast and stated that the Wolves simply weren’t a valuable asset. (We discussed the comments here and the podcast can be listened to in full here.)

The initial Forbes valuation of the Utah Jazz was $1.55 billion, and they sold for $1.66 billion inclusive of the minor league teams and the arena. The Wolves were valued at $1.375 billion by Forbes, and with Tayor’s stipulation that the buyer must keep the franchise in Minneapolis was expected to suppress the ultimate sale price, at least according to Wolfson.

While the Target Center is owned by the City of Minneapolis and is not included in the assets for sale, the Minnesota Lynx and T-Wolves Gaming are assumed to be part of the package.

This is a fascinating story to watch, and it’s certainly good that the Wolves apparently have several suitors at this stage in the process.