In March, William Chisholm purchased the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion. It's the most expensive sale of a North American sports team.
The Georgetown, MA native defied skeptics. The latter contingency raised concern that the franchise being a tenant at TD Garden, not owning its home arena, would preclude the Celtics from selling for a figure that started with a six.
There was also apprehension that inheriting a team facing a record-setting cost exceeding $500 million in payroll and luxury tax penalties for the 2025-26 campaign would reduce the price.
Instead, the NBA and its original monarchy made history. It's an ideal outcome, with expansion likely in the league's future. The Association can point to the price of purchasing the Celtics as a sign of what it will take to obtain a new franchise.
Celtics' ownership adds prominent partner
Aditya Mittal, the CEO of ArcelorMittal, is investing $1 billion into a group purchasing a stake in the NBA's reigning champions, per Sportico.
ArcelorMittal is a titan of the steel industry. Generating $62 billion in revenue, it's the world's second-largest steel and mining company. Its CEO is a member of one of the wealthiest families in India. Mittal is the son of ArcelorMittal's executive chairman, Lakshmi Mittal. The latter is on the board of Goldman Sachs, the financial adviser for Chisholm's group.
Sportico reports Aditya Mittal's purchase could make him the Celtics' second-largest shareholder. His investment may even lead to him eventually becoming the team's alternate governor.
Chisholm, the franchise's largest shareholder, will become team governor, succeeding Wyc Grousbeck after the 2027-28 season. The two have often sat together at Celtics games since the sale.
When Chisholm led the group that emerged with the winning bid, he told ESPN's Shams Charania, "My approach is to win and raise banners." he also conveyed, "That's in the near term and the long term. I've had a couple of sit-downs with Brad, and it's been about aligning our goals and extending the window of this team. The plans that Wyc and Brad have laid out make perfect sense to me."
Adding a prominent partner like Mittal should help Chisholm execute his vision for running his hometown team.
Mittal's investment also comes shortly after news that Chisholm has quieted concerns surrounding his purchase not being financed fully at the time of the agreement.
In early May, Ben Horney of Front Office Sports reported, "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."
Mittal joins a partnership that includes Boston business executives and philanthropists Rob Hale [a current Celtics owner] and Bruce A. Beal, Jr. The latter is the president of Related Companies. Sixth Street, a global investment firm, is also a part of the franchise's new ownership group.
Sportico reports about Mittal's investment, "Aditya has long been a huge supporter of the Boston Celtics." It's a message they received via a spokesperson for Mittal in an email. "When Wyc and Bill approached Aditya, he saw it as a tremendous opportunity to get involved with this incredible team. Obviously, he remains super focused on ArcelorMittal and also very much looks forward to supporting the team further."