NBA approves record $4 BILLION sale of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury to mortgage lender Mat Ishbia

Mortgage executive and former Michigan State Guard Mat Ishbia is the new majority owner of the WNBA’s Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, after the NBA’s board of governors approved his plan to buy out a majority stake in those Robert Sarver Franchises.

The league announced the approval Monday night and said the transaction will be finalized later this week.

The vote was 29-0, with the Cleveland Cavaliers abstaining, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the final decision has yet to be announced publicly.

Ishbia agreed on December 20 to the deal, which put the total value of the Suns and Mercury at $4 billion.

Ishbia and his brother Justin said then that they would acquire more than 50% of the franchises, which includes all of Sarver’s shares, as well as some minority partner stakes.

Mat Ishbia has officially purchased the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury

Ishbia is a former Michigan State basketball player and CEO of a mortgage company.

Mat Ishbia will be the governor of the Suns, Justin Ishbia will be the deputy governor. Now they can take on those roles just days before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, and with the Suns squarely in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race.

There are tentative plans to introduce Mat Ishbia on Wednesday at a news conference in Phoenix.

No other sale in NBA history has been completed with a $4 billion valuation of the franchise involved.

Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center for $3.3 billion in 2019, and Tilman Fertitta bought the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017.

The Suns are in position to compete in the Western Conference playoffs this season.

The sale was finalized hours after Jason Rowley, who was the Suns’ president and CEO, decided to leave the team in anticipation of leadership changes, a person familiar with the matter told the AP.

That person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Rowley’s resignation was not shared outside the organization, said Rowley’s departure was “shared internally” within the Suns organization on Monday.

Mat Ishbia is the Chairman, President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which bills itself as the largest mortgage lender in the country.

It had to successfully complete a vetting process by the NBA before the transaction could be finalized, and then the other owners in the league voted for or against the move.

Forbes recently listed his net worth at just over $5 billion. Ishbia’s company went public in January 2021 and is a rival to Quicken Loans, the company that has Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert as its founder and president.

Ishbia bought the teams from disgraced owner Robert Sarver, who agreed to a sale last year.

Ishbia played at Michigan State under coach Tom Izzo and was a member of the Spartans’ 2000 NCAA championship team.

The NBA suspended Sarver in September for one year and fined him $10 million after an investigation found he had engaged in what the league called “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.”

The punishment came nearly a year after the NBA asked a law firm to investigate allegations that Sarver had a history of racist, misogynistic and hostile incidents during his nearly two-decade tenure at the helm of the franchise.

Soon after, Sarver announced that he would be looking to sell the Suns and Mercury. He bought the Suns in 2004 for $401 million, which at the time was an NBA record.

Ishbia has previously been mentioned as a potential buyer for professional franchises, including the NFL’s Washington Commanders, and is a prominent donor to Michigan State.