Former Yankees great Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore are expected to take their fight for control of the Minnesota Timberwolves against the NBA team’s majority owner Glen Taylor to arbitration, according to a report.
A-Rod and Lore, who made his fortune after founding e-commerce unicorns Quidsi and Jet.com, are accusing Taylor of having “seller’s remorse” in reneging on a deal to sell an 80% stake in the team for $1.5 billion.
The pair were supposed to make payments in three tranches but failed to shell out the remaining $520 million to increase their stake from 40% to 80% after Lore refused to fork over a significant chunk of the funds, as The Post exclusively reported.
The dispute is now expected to head to arbitration, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
It could be months before the issue is resolved.
The Post has sought comment from Taylor, Rodriguez and Lore.
A source close to Taylor told FT that the 83-year-old billionaire and former politician would have followed through on the sale if Lore and Rodriguez met the conditions spelled out in the purchase agreement.
Taylor claimed that Lore and Rodriguez failed to meet a deadline that required them to pay the final tranche of the $1.5 billion sum. Lore and Rodriguez denied the claim.
Taylor, who bought the Wolves in 1994 for approximately $94 million, agreed to the $1.5 billion sale price three years ago.
However, the team’s valuation has since surged to nearly $3 billion, according to reports.
This season, the Timberwolves have been one of the NBA’s best teams — taking a 2-0 lead over the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the best-of-7 Western Conference semifinals Monday.
By March of last year, Lore and A-Rod amassed around 36% of the Wolves as well as the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.
A few months later, they exercised an option to buy an additional stake in the team that would have given them majority control.
In late March, The Post reported that Lore, who told the NBA he was worth around $4 billion, did not want to invest much of the $520 million that was needed for him and Rodriguez to increase their stake in the team to 80%.
Lore was willing to invest a relatively little amount of money, but wanted A-Rod, who had put in a lot less than Lore, to catch up in this new round of financing to a level much closer to what he had invested, sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Taylor released a statement effectively terminating the talks, stating that A-Rod and Lore missed a deadline for an additional payment.
“I will continue to work with Marc, Alex and the rest of the ownership group to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to compete at the highest levels on and off the court,” Taylor said in a statement in late March.
“The Timberwolves and Lynx are no longer for sale.”
Despite Taylor insisting that the team is not for sale, Lore has not given up on amassing a majority stake in the club, sources close to the situation told The Post last month.
Lore and Rodriguez issued a joint statement in late March expressing disappointment in Taylor and contending that they’ve upheld their end of the deal.
“We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process,” A-Rod and Lore said.
“Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during an historic winning season.”
The NBA has reportedly told the two sides to stop releasing statements to the press.
Adam Silver, the league commissioner, said last month that “there is no role for the league” in mediating a dispute between the buyer and seller of a team.
Taylor has also accused Lore and Rodriguez of failing to ingratiate themselves to the his family as well as to the Timberwolves fan base.
Lore and Rodriguez are also reported to have alienated locals by building a luxury suite in the team’s home arena — this despite being advised not to do so, according to USA TODAY.
Now the two minority investors have been barred from the suite as well as from executive management meetings that pertain to the Wolves and the Lynx, the outlet reported.
