By Brandon Sapienza
Michael Jordan is finalizing a sale of the National Basketball Association’s Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
As part of the agreement, Jordan, 60, will retain a minority share of the team that he has owned for 13 years as the league’s sole Black majority owner.
Plotkin has been a minority owner of the Hornets since 2019, while Schnall is a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks. They also have served as alternate governors on the NBA Board of Governors. Schnall is in the process of selling his stake in the Hawks, a process which is expected to be completed in the next several weeks, the Hornets said.
Music artists J.Cole and Eric Church are part of Plotkin and Schnall’s group. Other members of the buyer group include Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, Dyal HomeCourt Partners, and several other local Charlotte investors. It is unclear how much of a stake they will hold as part of the deal.
Jordan’s stake will fetch an approximate $3 billion valuation in the deal, ESPN reported, citing league sources.
The deal remains subject to a vetting and approval process by the NBA.
(Updates with details from Hornets statement.)
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