On May 27, the minority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves filed a formal complaint about the sale of the franchise. The letter denounced that Glen Taylor, the majority owner, had carried out the sale without agreeing to it with the rest of the participants. The lawsuit argued that, in the event of a change in ownership, minority owners would have the right to sell their share individually. According to Meyer Orbach, the sale agreement between Taylor and the group led by Alex Rodríguez and Marc Lore violated this clause. However, a judge has dismissed the resource and has given the green light to the continuity of operations.
The journalist from The Athletic Jon Krawczynski has exposed the arguments used by the judge. According to the magistrate, there is no evidence of an act of bad faith by Taylor in the sale. Especially since the takeover by Rodríguez and Lore will be gradual, since they will have to wait until 2023 to be the owners of the property. In principle, buyers will only get 20%, so the plaintiff’s complaint loses meaning to the jury. Minority owners have sufficient room for maneuver to decide on the future of their shares in the organization.
But, although the sale is going to follow the channel it left a little more than a month ago, Orbach’s demand does raise the eyebrow of the Timberwolves environment. The judicial process has revealed the absence of a legal agreement that ensures the continuity of the franchise in Minnesota. This poses a risk given that the first contacts between Taylor and the buyers were surrounded by rumors about a possible move to Seattle. The current owner was in charge of silencing them, ensuring that the negotiations had already taken this issue into account. Alex Rodríguez has assured that his intention is none other than to continue with the project in Minnesotta.
The truth is that, after numerous attempts, the sale of the Timberwolves for a figure close to 1.5 billion dollars is close to materializing. At the time of the judicial stoppage, the process was facing the last straight to become official.
(Cover photo by Hannah Foslien / Getty Images)
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