A group led by Bill Chisholm, the founder of private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, has agreed a deal to buy the Boston Celtics for $6.1bn, according to ESPN.
The deal would be a record sum for a US sports franchise: a group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales bought the NFL’s Washington Commanders for $6.05bn in 2023.
The Celtics’ current owners, the Grousbeck family, said last June that they intended to sell the team in 2024 or 2025. ESPN reports that Wyc Grousbeck will continue as the team’s CEO until the end of the 2027-28 season.
The sale would represent a huge return in investment for the Grousbecks and partner Steve Pagliuca: they led a group that bought the team for $360m in 2002. Pagliuca had hoped to take sole ownership of the Celtics but was outbid by Chisholm. On Thursday, he said he was “saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process.”
The Celtics are one of the NBA’s blue chip franchises. They have won a record 18 championships, including their win in last season’s NBA finals over the Dallas Mavericks. Their core of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porziņģis are still in their prime but Tatum, Boston’s best player, is due a huge payday and keeping the roster together in the long-term could prove difficult. However, this season has been a strong one for the Celtics and they sit second in the NBA Eastern Conference.
The NBA is also in rude financial health. Although audience figures have been slightly down this year, the league agreed a new $76bn 11-year broadcasting deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon in 2024.
Last year, Forbes ranked the Celtics as the fourth-most valuable NBA team at $6bn. The Golden State Warriors were ranked No 1 with an estimated value of $8.8bn.
Chisholm is a Celtics fan and grew up in the Boston area.