Paul Allen’s estate has formally reached an agreement to sell the Portland Trail Blazers to a group of investors led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, The Associated Press reported Friday.
Tom Dundon, Investment Group Bought Blazers For $4.25 Billion
Dundon announced a tentative deal last month to buy the team and keep it in Portland. The Allen estate announced Friday that it had “entered a formal sales agreement” with the group. Terms were not disclosed.
According to a statement from Allen Family Philanthropies, Dundon’s group includes Portland-based Sheel Tyle, the co-founder of investment firm Collective Global; Marc Zahr, co-president of Blue Owl Capital; and the Cherng Family Trust, the family office and investment firm of the co-founders of Panda Express.
In August, Dundon and his investment group purchased the Blazers for $4.25 billion.
Dundon’s plan was to have the purchase agreement signed this month. A target date of March 31, 2026, has been set for the close of the deal, according to The Athletic’s Jason Quick.
New Owners Could Take Over By End Of 2025-26 Season
The current deal remains tentative until the NBA Board of Governors can ratify the agreement.
If the sale is approved by the scheduled closing date of March 31, the new owners will take over with six games remaining in the 2025-26 season.
In March, the Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion. The Blazers sale is expected to close by the end of this year.
Dundon, 53, bought a stake in the Hurricanes in 2017 and became the majority owner in 2018. He is chairman and managing partner of the Dallas-based firm Dundon Capital Partners.
Allen’s estate announced in May that it had begun the process of selling the Trail Blazers.
Allen Became Trail Blazers Owner In 1988
Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft who died in 2018 at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, originally bought the Blazers in 1988 for $70 million.
Allen also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and was a co-owner of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders.
Since his death, Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair of both the Blazers and Seahawks and is a trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.
Rip City Forever, a community coalition helmed by former Blazers and team officials in Portland, shared the following statement in light of the agreement:
“The work to ensure Portland remains Rip City Forever has just begun. A public-private partnership to create a world-class home for the Blazers is at the heart of this effort. We urge Mr. Dundon, together with city and state leaders, to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to think big and act big – for the future of our city and state.”
