The Boston Celtics have been sold for a record $6.1 billion valuation, a person with knowledge of the transaction confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the deal was announced by the team.
H. Irving Grousbeck and his son Wyc Grousbeck, who were the majority owners of the team, and the governor informed their partners of the sale to William Chisholm, who is a managing partner of Symphony Technology Group, a private equity firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Sixth Street investment group and other partners are part of the Chisholm group.
The Grousbecks bought the Celtics for a $360 million valuation in 2002 and announced in July they had planned to sell the team ‘for estate and family planning considerations.’
‘The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028,’ the Celtics said in a news release at the time.
The Grousbeck family plans to sell 51% of their ownership share now and their remaining shares in 2028. The way the purchase agreement is structured, the final sale price could get close to a $7 billion valuation.
With the sale of the Celtics and a resolution expected soon on the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves to a group led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, the NBA can focus on expansion, with the possibility of two expansion teams fetching approximately $5 billion each.
The $6.1 billion sale is the largest of a North American sports franchise, topping the previous record set by Josh Harris and a group who paid $6.05 billion for the Washington Commanders in 2023.
Most expensive North American sports team sales
$6.1 billion – Boston Celtics, 2025
$6.05 billion – Washington Commanders, 2023
$4.65 billion –Denver Broncos, 2023
$4 billion –Phoenix Suns, 2023
$3.5 billion –Milwaukee Bucks, 2023
$2.4 billion –New York Mets, 2020
$2.4 billion –Brooklyn Nets, 2019
$2.2 billion –Carolina Panthers, 2018
$2.2 billion –Houston Rockets, 2017
$2 billion – Los Angeles Dodgers, 2012