Geline Salac

NBA's Boston Celtics sold for record $6.1 billion

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>WASHINGTON - The NBA&#x27;s Boston Celtics are being sold to the head of a California private equity firm for $6.1 billion, a record price for a US sports franchise, the club&#x27;s owners confirmed Thursday.</p><p>Boston Basketball Partners LLC said in a statement it had agreed to sell the iconic team to William Chisholm, managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group.</p><p>&quot;If approved, the new ownership group will buy a majority of the team this summer at an initial valuation of $6.1 billion,&quot; the statement said, confirming the purchase price reported by US media.</p><p>That&#x27;s the highest ever offered for a North American sports team, surpassing the $6.05 billion paid for the NFL&#x27;s Washington Commanders in 2023.</p><p>The sale of the Celtics, the current NBA champions, still requires the approval of the NBA Board of Governors.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1902223510485045577&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-03-20T23%3A40%3A45.930651%3A2f80cee3-71f4-49a0-ad34-bae1d1ac29d8%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=02ed8e35877947a55e2e3b47bffb35e108e1f15d&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:754px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1902223510485045577"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>The team is one of the most storied in the league&#x27;s history, with a record 18 championships.</p><p>Chisholm, a Massachusetts native, said in a statement he has been &quot;die-hard fan Celtics fan my entire life.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston -- the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country,&quot; Chisholm said.</p><p>&quot;I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organization to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge.&quot;</p><p>The new ownership group also includes current Celtics co-owner Robert Hale; Bruce Beal Jr, president of Related Companies; and the global investment firm, Sixth Street.</p><p>The Grousbeck family and Steve Pagliuca purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002.</p><p>Wyc Grousbeck will continue in his roles of chief executive officer and Governor, overseeing team operations, through the 2027-28 season.</p><p>Chisholm said he was looking forward to learning from Grousbeck along with Celtics president Brad Stevens and head coach Joe Mazzulla.</p><p>The Boston Globe reported that three other buyers had been under consideration: Celtics co-owner Pagliuca; Stan Middleman, a co-owner of Major League Baseball&#x27;s Philadelphia Phillies; and The Friedkin Group.</p><p>Pagliuca released a statement after news of the pending sale broke, saying he &quot;worked tirelessly to put together a strong bid&quot; and was &quot;saddened&quot; that his offer to buy the team was not selected.</p><p>&quot;We made a fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price, befitting the best sports fans in the world, and with all the capital coming from individuals who are fully committed to winning on and off the court,&quot; Pagliuca said in his statement.</p><p>&quot;We had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future. We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics.</p><p>&quot;I will never stop being a Celtic, and if the announced transaction does not end up being finalized, my partners and I are ready to check back into the game and bring it home, to help continue what the Celtics do best -- win,&quot; he added.</p><p>Three NBA teams were sold in 2023: the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion, the Milwaukee Bucks for $3.5 billion and the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion.</p><p>bb/st</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p>

<p>The NBA's Boston Celtics are being sold to the head of a California private equity firm for $6.1 billion, a record price for a US sports franchise, the club's owners confirmed Thursday.</p>

The NBA's Boston Celtics are being sold to the head of a California private equity firm for $6.1 billion, a record price for a US sports franchise, the club's owners confirmed Thursday.