Minnesota Timberwolves: Ownership lawsuit dismissed, sale can continue
By Ben Beecken
A judge has ruled that the pending agreement between current Minnesota Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor and a group led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to sell the franchise can continue.
The next step in the process should be the NBA Board of Governors, who would vote to approve the sale and pave the way for Lore and Rodriguez to become minority owners before the end of the calendar year.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Ownership lawsuit dismissed, sale can continue
The lawsuit was brought by Meyer Orbach and his company, Orbitz Inc., who is the largest minority stakeholder in the franchise. Orbach was contending that Taylor did not give him the opportunity to divest from the ownership group by selling his shares at the valuation that Taylor was allegedly receiving from the new group.
Taylor’s contention is that he will remain the majority owner for potentially as long as three years, and therefore the so-called “tagalong rights” need not be exercised.
The judge reportedly agrees with Taylor.
Judge rules that because Lore and A-Rod initially plan to come in at 20%, there is no initial agreement for controlling interest in Wolves/Lynx. That renders Orbach's argument he is due his payout immediately null and void, in the eyes of the court
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) July 1, 2021
The dismissal of the lawsuit means that the transaction can move forward. Lore, a tech billionaire, and Rodriguez, a former Major League Baseball superstar, can continue their plans to take a significant stake — 20 percent, as Krawczynski notes — before Dec. 2021.
Taylor will remain involved, and Orbach will presumably have the next few years to choose to divest (or not), but the only thing that will change in the near term is the introduction of Lore and Rodriguez as the new minority owners with the most skin in the game.
At various times, Rodriguez and Lore have been reported as both wanting to keep the team in Minneapolis and also having an interest in moving the franchise.
There’s a lot that can and will happen before it’s even an option, of course; the timeline for the new group to take majority ownership has been reported to extend into late 2024.
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In the meantime, expect Lore and Rodriguez to get back into the spotlight as the transaction moves closer to being finalized. Once the Board of Governors approves the sale, the new group will be on track to be involved before the end of 2021.