NBA’s board of governors approves sale of Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Jewish businessmen Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin.
Elad Benari
The NBA’s board of governors has approved the sale of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Jewish businessmen Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The BOG vote was 29-1 to approve the sale — with New York Knicks owner James Dolan registering the lone vote against, the sources said.
The completed sale of the team — purchased at an approximate $3 billion valuation — will be executed in the next one to two weeks, sources said.
Schnall, who had been a minority owner with the Atlanta Hawks, and Plotkin, a minority owner with the Hornets, will become the franchise’s governors. Six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP Michael Jordan, who had owned the Hornets until now, will keep a minority stake in the franchise.
Jordan had previously sold a significant minority stake to Plotkin, founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, founder and chief investment officer of D1 Capital, in 2020.
Schnall, the co-president of the private equity firm of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York, was part of a group (including majority owner Tony Ressler and Grant Hill) that purchased the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 for $850 million.
The Hornets recently suffered a 27-55 season riddled with injuries to most of the team’s top players, and selected Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in the June NBA draft.
They also selected guard Amari Bailey, who is Jewish, with the 41st overall selection of the NBA draft. Last week with the 41st overall selection of the NBA draft. Last week, the Hornets signed Bailey to a two-way contract.
Source: Arutz 7
