Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reached a tentative agreement to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from Paul Allen’s estate, according to people familiar with the details.
Others in the group include Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Portland-based Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global, according to the people, who were granted anonymity because the details were private. The new group intends to keep the team in Portland, the people said.
It’s unclear how the team is being valued in the transaction or when it may close. “We are excited,” Dundon said in an email. Allen’s estate declined to comment. Sportico values the team at $3.6 billion.
Any transaction would require NBA approval.
Allen, who co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates, bought the Blazers in 1988 for $70M. He later bought the Seahawks and a large minority stake in the MLS’ Seattle Sounders. When he died in 2018, his will dictated that his sports team be sold. The Blazers’ sale is happening before the Seahawks process.
Dundon bought the NHL’s Hurricanes in 2018 for $425 million. He is also majority owner of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball. He will serve as the Trail Blazers governor, the people said.
Allen’s will directed his estate to sell the sports assets and direct the proceeds to philanthropy. His sister Jody is the executor of his estate and has been serving as owner of the NBA and NFL teams.
Because the seller is the estate, the process likely unfolded differently than the more common private sale of a sports team from one person to another. In that scenario, the seller has much wider discretion about whom to sell to and for what price. In most estate sales, the trust has a fiduciary duty to maximize the value of its assets, which generally means the team sells to the highest qualified bidder. This was the dynamic in place for the 2023 sale of the NFL’s Denver Broncos for a then-record $4.6 billion.
Allen & Company facilitated the deal on behalf of the Trail Blazers. Hogan Lovells served as legal advisor.
(This story has been updated in the third paragraph with a quote from Tom Dundon.)
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