According to Ben Horney of Front Office Sports, Bill Chisholm’s purchase of the Boston Celtics will be finalized within the next week, as the new soon-to-be owner has acquired enough money to complete the deal. “The record $6.1 billion Boston Celtics sale will be finalized within the next week and the deal structure will be compliant with NBA private-equity ownership rules, Front Office Sports has learned,” Horney wrote on Thursday afternoon.
There was some drama surrounding the sale, as it was revealed that Chisholm did not put up the majority of the money for the sale—an issue which would have broken NBA rules.
Dan Primack of Axios reported on the potential issue at the end of March.
“The big picture: Bill Chisholm, the club's presumptive new control owner, has committed less money to the two-part deal than has Sixth Street Partners, according to three sources,” Primack wrote. “That is not allowed by the NBA, per regulations first established in 2021. Instead, a PE fund can have the lesser of 20% or below the percentage held by the control owner (who must hold a 15% minimum stake).”
Bill Chisholm just cleared up potential issues with acquisition of Celtics
Now, however, those issues seem to have cleared up. Horney reports that Chisholm is now more than capable of covering his share of the purchase.
“Lead buyer Bill Chisholm’s group now has enough money to cover the cost of the deal and is in fact “oversubscribed,” two sources tell FOS,” Horney wrote. “The group will acquire more than 51% of the franchise in the first tranche of the deal, one source says. The exact size stake Chisholm will end up owning is still unclear.”
Wyc Grousbeck, who announced that he would be selling his majority stake of the team after the 2024 NBA Championship, will remain with the Celtics as CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season.
Chisholm, a lifelong Celtics fan from Georgetown, Massachusetts, has been a consistent face around the team ever since it was announced that he would become the new owner. He’s been sitting alongside Grousbeck in the current owner’s set of court-side seats at most games.
The sale process will drag on for a few years, but it now seems as though there is a set plan in place. Chisholm will be the new owner of the Celtics, so fans can get used to seeing his face around.
And luckily for the Celtics, it seems as though any potential problems involving the sale have been solved.