New Celtics owner Bill ChisholmCourtesy of William Chisholm Investor Group
The Celtics are set to be sold for a record-breaking $6.1 billion price tag this summer to a group led by Bill Chisholm. However, a new report indicates the private equity investor and lifelong Celtics fan is still working to secure more investors to complete the deal.
Chisholm already has multiple partners in place for the purchase, including current Celtics minority co-owner Robert Hale, Bruce A. Beal Jr. and Sixth Street, a global investment firm that also has a stake in the San Antonio Spurs.
A Forbes report last month indicated that Chisholm was still on the hunt for more investors in the deal and on Tuesday, Front Office Sports indicates that the search is continuing for Chisholm a month later.
Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports notes that Chisholm has been actively calling other wealthy sports team owners including a current NFL owner inquiring about their willingness to buy in.
Axios reported back in March that Chisholm’s offer wasn’t fully financed yet, but the bid isn’t expected to be voted on by the NBA Board of Governors until after the postseason, so there is still plenty of time to close the deal.
The report is a bit of a contrast from Wyc Grousbeck’s remarks last week about the sales in process in an interview with WBZ.
“I think this can be a really positive transformation,” Grousbeck said. “It’s going to happen this summer, but it’s definitely going to happen. I think we’re oversubscribed. We have more capital coming in than we even have room for. Appreciation to those people who are believing. A lot of former partners are coming in now, which is a new change, and that’s great.
“So it’s the old and the new mixing in together. But there’s new energy and there’s new excitement. We’ve been in 22 years, my group, and now most of us are going to be in going forward, including me. I’m doubling down on all my stuff and putting everything I’ve got in to stay for a while. It’s really exciting. There’s a new vibe. They don’t want to change anything. They want it to be just the way it’s been.”
Chisholm’s group will ultimately take a controlling stake in the franchise if the deal is approved by the league in the first part of a two-part sale. Current governor Wyc Grousbeck is expected to remain in his current role until the close of the sale in 2028.
“My partners and I have immense respect for Wyc, the entire Grousbeck family and their indelible contributions to the Celtics organization over the last 23 years,” Chisholm said in a release last month announcing the sale. “We look forward to learning from Wyc and partnering with Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzulla and the talented team and staff to build upon their success as we work to bring more championships home to Boston.”
