Orbit Sports charges Wolves and Lynx owner with breach of contract, “silence and stonewalling.”
The potential sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx hit a big bump in the road on Wednesday. New Jersey-based Orbit Sports LLC, which owns more than 17 percent of the teams, has filed suit against Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor alleging that the Minnesota billionaire is breaching the partnership agreement with Orbit. ESPN first broke the news on Wednesday night.
Taylor has struck a widely reported deal to sell the teams to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore for $1.5 billion. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Minneapolis, lists Taylor, Taylor Corp. and Taylor Sports Group Inc. as defendants.
Win McNamee/Associated Press
MLB legend Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are finalizing an agreement to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor, who bought a majority stake of the NBA team in 1994, according to ESPN s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski reported the price is expected to be in the $1.5 billion range.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium shared a statement from Rodriguez and Lore:
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Alex Rodriguez and partner Marc Lore are nearing minority stakes with the Minnesota Timberwolves, with plan to take control of the franchise in two years under mentorship of Glen Taylor. Statement from A-Rod and Lore: https://t.co/nFDIhil5ra
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Three-time MLB MVP Alex Rodriguez and e-commerce mogul Marc Lore have signed a letter of intent with Glen Taylor and are negotiating to succeed him as owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.
Rodriguez and Lore signed the documents on Saturday and now have a 30-day exclusive negotiating window to try to finalize a deal with Taylor. If completed, it would infuse the Timberwolves with some mega-watt star power. It also would give Taylor the partners he has long sought to carry the franchise into the future as he prepares to step aside from the team he has owned for 27 years. The succession plan being discussed, sources said, would call for Rodriguez and Lore two close friends who are 50-50 partners in the arrangement to join Taylor’s ownership group as limited partners for two and a half years, at which time Taylor would then step aside and hand the reins to the new majority partners.