Tentative Deal Reached to Purchase Portland Trail Blazers

Portland, Oregon – A tentative agreement has been reached for a group to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of late owner Paul Allen, according to sources familiar with the transaction.

The group includes Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr, and Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global, sources say. They intend to keep the team in Portland. “We are excited,” Dundon said in an email regarding the deal.

The exact valuation of the team remains unclear, and there is no timeline for when the sale may close. Allen’s estate, which declined to comment, has been involved in the sale process since his will directed that his sports teams be sold for philanthropic causes following his death in 2018.

Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, purchased the Trail Blazers in 1988 for $70 million. He also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and a minority stake in Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders. The ongoing sale of the Trail Blazers precedes the sale of the Seahawks.

Following Allen’s death, his sister Jody has been managing the estate and sports teams. Typically, estate sales must seek to maximize asset values, often resulting in a sale to the highest qualified bidder, which was evident in past transactions like the sale of the NFL’s Denver Broncos for $4.6 billion.

Allen & Company facilitated the deal on behalf of the Trail Blazers, with Hogan Lovells serving as legal counsel.