Timberwolves, Lynx ownership dispute heading for arbitration in November

Fans hoping the ownership dispute for majority control of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx would resolve before the conclusion of the current WNBA season and the start of the upcoming NBA season might be disappointed.

An arbitration hearing that would essentially settle the dispute between the minority owners, business partners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, and the principal owner, Glen Taylor, will begin early November — shortly after the NBA season tips off — people with knowledge of the matter told the Star Tribune.

The hearing should last a week, with the ruling from a three-member arbitration panel coming within 30 days. A mediation hearing May 1 failed to resolve the dispute, automatically moving the issue to arbitration, a binding procedure for settling private disputes outside of court.

The arbitration must finish within six months and take place in Minneapolis, according to the contract between Purple Buyer Holdings LLC, the company Lore and Rodriguez own, and Taylor Sports Group, a company Taylor owns. Taylor also owns the Star Tribune.

Lore and Rodriguez were to make their third and final installment of a $1.5 billion payment to Taylor for the teams by March 27, giving them 80% ownership of the franchises. The next day, Taylor said in a statement the acquisition option had expired because Lore and Rodriguez missed the deadline.

Lore, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, and Rodriguez, a former baseball star-turned-investor, said they secured the necessary funding for the deal and submitted the paperwork to the NBA on time. That then extends the deadline 90 days, they said, if the sides are awaiting league approval to finish the acquisition.

The arbitration panel could rule in Taylor’s favor, determining he was allowed to say the team was no longer for sale. The panel could also rule Lore and Rodriguez qualified for a 90-day extension, and Taylor must sell them the team or pay monetary damages.

Lore and Rodriguez currently own 36% of the franchises, with limited partners owning the other 4%. If Lore and Rodriguez win the arbitration battle, they still would have to complete the NBA’s approval process, but a decision in their favor would likely expedite the ownership transfer process.

Since Taylor agreed to the deal in 2021, the teams’ collective value has reportedly risen 87% from $1.57 billion to $2.9 billion.