NBA Brothers want to buy MLB team for more than $1 billion: reports

Justin and Mat Ishbia are not twins, but the two brothers are reportedly interested in buying some.

The Ishbias, who are part majority owners of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, are exploring a bid for MLB’s Minnesota Twins according to more reports.

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According to Bloombergwho cited an anonymous source, Justin Ishbia “has been meeting with local community leaders across the state to learn more about the community and the possibility of carrying on the twins’ legacy.”

Ishbia, 47, is the founder of private equity firm Shore Capital Partners. His younger brother, Mat, is president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage.

In December 2022, the brothers bought a majority stake in the Suns and Mercury from Robert Sarver in a deal that made Mat the governor and Justin the alternate governor of the basketball teams.

The Pohlad family began exploring a sale of the twins in October. Patriarch Carl Pohlad completed his purchase of the Twins franchise in 1984. Only two other MLB owners have owned teams longer: the Steinbrenner family, which owns the New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

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According to BloombergJustin Ishbia has long had an interest in owning an MLB team; it is listed among Shore Capital’s targets at the company’s Chicago headquarters.

Forbes and Sportico have estimated the twins’ worth at $1.46 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.

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As reported in The AthleticTwins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters at the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas that the process of selling the team is still in the early stages.

According to Athletics’ Dan Hayeshe described the status of the sale as being in phase one, “which is gathering a ton of information. Our lawyers and financiers who have to get a handle on everything, they’ve been working like crazy. Then there’s the next phase in the process. when potential buyers start to investigate this, we are not at that stage yet.”

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What does this mean in terms of a timeline?

The Athletic cited “multiple parties briefed on the matter” who expect the Twins’ sale process to take six months, meaning a new ownership group likely won’t be in place before Opening Day.

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